Why only one set of Footprints? I can do all things through God who strengthens me.

We all know that blessed 151^st Psalm, the one about the two footprints in the sand (what do you mean it hasn't been added to the Bible yet?), where we turn around and there is only one set of footprints because that's where God carried us. But how do we know that God was carrying us then? How do we know that we weren't just better at handling life than we give ourselves credit for?

Or do we not deserve any credit? I know that we thank God when we eat together, but do we thank God for making our breakfast cereal? That without the great guiding power from on high we wouldn't be able to use a knife to spread butter on our toast? Can I actually tie my own shoe laces or is that, too, an act of divine provenance?

I remember being a teenager and wanting to play guitar like Slash from Guns And Roses. I would pray every night that God would change my hands from these fat sausage fingers I have to slim, svelte, long fingers that knew exactly where to go on the fretboard.

I would try to pull off that awesome solo from Knocking on Heavens Door (surely God would grant my wish if I was playing a song with Heaven in it), and I would fail. Then I would pray about it and the next morning get my guitar amped up and try again. Remember kids, attempt great things for God, expect great things from God. And guess what happened after a night of prayer?

A morning of frustration. I was still as terrible at guitar as I had been the night previous.

Maybe this was God sending me a message, or so my tiny teenage mind reasoned. Maybe God knew that if I become awesome at shredding guitar licks, then maybe I would go off to LA and live an amoral life of sleeping with groupies and snorting cocaine with lingerie models. I promised God that I would never do that stuff, although yeah, truth be told I would have loved that lifestyle.

Pray as I might, I didn't manage to pull off that sweet, face melting solo for a good few months... and a lot of practice.

Practice helped me more than anything else. I would get it wrong so many times, and I would get so frustrated at myself, at my guitar, at everything which conspired against me. If only I had a top of the line Les Paul sunburst like Slash then I could pull off those licks easy. At the end of weeks of practice I could pull it off with the second hand no brand guitar I had picked up at the local music shop.

So who learned to play that solo, me or God? And who taught me to play it, did I teach and train myself or did God magic my fingers to be able to do that stuff? And here's the thing folks, did God magic Slash's fingers to do the same? Why is it when a Christian does something it's because of God, yet when a non-Christian does something it's because they studied hard, or practised, or are simply good at something?

I know that I am oversimplifying this to make a point, but there is a point here. God motivates us, the Spirit of God reveals to us needs and empowers us to meet them. We could argue that God compels us to attempt great things and expect great things. But Noah still had to build that ark. He still had to get up every morning and go fer wood (geddit?), he still had get callouses on his hands from hammering those nails. God did not magic the ark.

And this, for me, is the inherent danger of the Footprints movement, that we assume God has carried us through the hardest trials of life. Maybe God believes in you more than you realise, and maybe God knows that you're good and you can handle this. This isn't to say that God isn't there with you, but we all have a responsibility to do what we can to get through this.

Let me give you an example here. Over half of all Evangelicals believe that they can pray away mental illness. That's shocking to me. I can attest that the help I received during a bout of depression a few years ago has stayed with me, the coping techniques still help me, and I am in a better position to recognise when the black wave is surrounding me.

Then there are those people I meet who have tremendous potential.  Maybe they are promising preachers or half decent students.  I don't know if it is just pride which prevents them from taking advice but they will often say that God will equip them for whatever is to come.  Well maybe God has equipped others to teach and guide you, God does that.

God can and does work with us to overcome these hurdles, but we do have to be like Noah and do something about it.

I don't like Footprints. It absolves us of too much responsibility. Were I to rewrite it there would always be at least two sets of prints in the sand. God and me, together, with me often leaning on God for help when I need it. Not expecting to be carried, but facing the world alongside a strength I don't possess myself.