Staying on Track
Judi Wheat / Next Gen Preschool Curriculum Coordinator
“And with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” Ephesians 6:15
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6
A few months ago, we were getting ready to go on a trip that would require a great deal of walking. So, I purchased a new pair of black, slip-on walking shoes that needed to be broken in. I grabbed my new shoes off the shoe rack and proceeded to put them on and walk in them.
The shoes did not feel right. Too long, too wide, and a very poor fit. I tried everything to make them fit correctly. Put in arch supports, new foot pads. You name it, and I tried it. Nothing worked. So, I told my husband that the shoes were going back to the store.
A few minutes later, my husband walked out of the laundry room with a new black pair of slip-on walking shoes. I looked at them and then got the other pair of shoes. Then we both started laughing. The first pair of shoes that I grabbed belonged to my husband; and, no matter what I would do they would never fit. I really thought they were my shoes; but my perception was totally off. I looked, but I really didn’t see.
Is that not what we often do in our Christian walk? God requests something from us and wants us to go a certain way or do something He desires and we lean on ourselves, rather than Him. “I’ve got this; I know what I am doing,” we say to ourselves. And, in the process we see something so different from what God sees or desires. We see what we want to see, and we do everything to make it work on our own and it doesn’t.
This brings Jonah to mind. God desired for him to go to preach repentance to the wicked city of Nineveh and Jonah goes in the opposite direction. It didn’t work out so well for him; he landed in the belly of a large fish for three days. He does repent and travels to Nineveh.
God’s word tells us in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” This scripture is so true, if only we would follow what God tells us to do.
Shoes, in a spiritual sense, can represent movement, readiness, protection, and our journey in life, symbolizing our path, progress, and spiritual preparedness; as stated in Ephesians 6:15, being ready in spiritual warfare. This is a life lesson I will always remember, a simple mix-up with selecting the wrong shoes, but being reminded that I need to, as the Message Bible states, “Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He’s the one who will keep you on track.”