Sand on the Sea Shore

Hosea 1v10 says that the Israelites will be like sand on the sea shore, which cannot be measured or counted. As I am currently on a beach holiday this verse really jumped out at me. Having spent the week at different areas of the coast and on various beaches I am greatly aware of just how much sand there is and how many grains it takes to make up a beach. The more I though about this the more connections I saw between sand and people. One their own grains of sand can be fairly ineffective and even arraying when they get in unwanted places. But together as part of one body they create a space where millions of people want to spend their time. Sand is also very versatile and looks different in different weather. Perhaps I’m overdoing the analogies now, but each grain of sand has travelled a different course and each has a story to tell. Yet to say we are like grains of sand doesn’t mean we are unimportant and insignificant. Together we can make a castle or be moulded into beautiful glass products. We can do anything we set our minds to if we work together.

Perhaps even more amazing when thinking about the sand analogy is that it gives us perspective on how small we are. Yet in Mathew 10v30 we learn that god has counted every hair on our head and he knows us intimately. It is humbling when we realise how small we are and yet we have a god that cares for us. So much so he sacrificed his only son just for ‘little old me’. Next time you begin to feel insignificant and small I pray that you will remember that however small you feel you are precious to god, so much so that he went to the cross just for you as if you were the last grain of sand in the world. We might feel small but god is big and this is enough for me!