by Pastor Scott Gabrielson Craig Valley Baptist Church 10-1-25
I was recently traveling and happened to pick up a newspaper in Myrtle Beach SC, when one of the articles caught my eye. The title was “God Saw Us”. It was an article about Sandy Island, a pristine island about 12,000 acres, south of Myrtle Beach.
Sandy Island is an enigma, a place that remains largely untouched by outside influence or attempts to connect it. It is in fact the largest undeveloped freshwater island on the east Coast, according to The Nature Conservancy.
It’s also the highest point in Georgetown County SC, which helps protect it from flooding. It is a remnant of the past, a historic community in a place of respite, untouched in this busy world of ours.
There are no paved roads, only paths of sand edged with longleaf pines. Spanish moss dangles from the live oak limbs, enticing visitors like scarves blowing gently in the sea breeze. Fishermen sit through the day and into the evening, casting their lines to catch their fresh dinner.
Sandy Island has no connections to land, in other words – no bridge. The only way to get to the island is by boat, and a ferry runs each day to take the kids that live there to go to school on the mainland. The island has about 40 inhabitants, mostly descendants of the original African slaves that worked the rice plantations nearby and lived on the land. There is one small general store, the New Bethel Baptist church, a schoolhouse, and a small fire station, completed by a handful of older homes, all occupied by locals. Visitors are not even allowed on the island, except by invitation. (There is a bed and breakfast on the island, if you are interested).
A few years ago, there was an attempt by developers to develop this paradise into a housing development and build a bridge to the island. At first the locals were thrilled to think that they would have a bridge to get back and forth to the mainland. Over time, however, they learned that the bridge would be restricted to use by new homeowners only, except for medical emergencies. In other words, there was no real benefit to the natives.
So, they petitioned the government and prayed.
And they believed that God saw them and heard their prayers, as the developers were denied their application to develop the island. Moreover, the SC Department of Transportation learned of their plight and agreed to set aside money to purchase much of the remaining island from the developers and take oversight of the land, so about 75% of the island is owned by the state and 25% by the original landowners or their descendants. It’s now a nature conservancy for all and will remain so.
It’s a wonderful story. but there could be another side to it.
It’s likely that the developers prayed too. Perhaps they were Christians and had invested a lot of money into the project. Perhaps their entire livelihood.
How did God decide who to help? Whenever there are two opposing sides, who does God choose?
- We always prefer to believe that God chooses US, instead of THEM. That’s human nature.
- Who did God choose in the war between the states (or if you prefer, the war of Northern Aggression)? I really don’t know that answer.
- I am not sure how God chooses any praying group over another, except in the case of His own chosen people, the Jewish nation of Israel. In Genesis 12:1-3 the Bible states that God makes a covenant with Abram (later Abraham), promising to make him a great nation and bless those who bless him. This promise is specifically stated in verse 3, “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse”.
- Later, in Numbers 24:9 it states that the prophet Balaam, hired to curse Israel, instead blesses them, saying, “Blessed is he who blesses you, and cursed is he who curses you”.
But I do know this:
I also know that God is on the side of good, never evil.
God is on the side of right (righteousness), not wrong
God is on the side of love, never hatred.
God chooses truth over lies.
And, God is on the side of those who seek and follow his son Jesus, whom He sent to die for the sins of humanity, and more specifically for my sins and yours, when we follow Him. Psalm 91:11 says “the Lord gives His people strength; the Lord blesses His people with peace.”
Perhaps the most interesting thing about this article to me is that it began on page B1 but was continued on page B2. At the bottom of the article is stated,… Please See God, page B2.
There are a lot of very good folks who have pushed God to page 2 in their life. They believe, perhaps they even go to church, but they are not living like God is the most important person in their life. They don’t pray, they don’t really worship Him, they live in their own sins which they call “my problem”.
How many of us are missing the love, good, presence and blessing of God, simply because we have moved Him from page 1 in our life, to page 2? How about you?
