Hey friends, and welcome back to the Armor of God series! So far, we've covered the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness, and I have learned so much. Not only are we breaking down and understanding what each piece is and why it matters, we're learning about how to correctly, effectively, and practically put on each piece in our daily life.
Today, we're going to be diving into the "feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace" (Ephesians 6:15). And to be completely transparent, this may be the piece of armor that has always confused me the most. With that being said, I am super excited to learn alongside you and "armor up"!
A soldier's shoes could make or break his attack in battle. They often resembled cleats, with nails or spikes in the bottoms, to help the soldier maintain balance. And, just imagine going to battle without shoes. That would be painful and ineffective!
The same is for our spiritual "shoes", only it takes a little more effort to put them on.
When we put on these shoes, we take on a stance of readiness, of preparedness, for whatever attack the enemy tries to throw at us. We have the truth securely tucked in our belt and the breastplate of righteousness protecting our most vulnerable parts, and we are ready. We have strategic moves planned, grounded in "the Gospel of peace".
This Gospel of peace that Paul is referring to is the good news about Jesus. It's the testimony of His life, why He came, and why that matters for all of us. These shoes require that we have our feet planted on the Gospel, the foundation of everything we believe and everything we do. If we aren't secure in this, then our battle plan and tactics will be superficial - and a superficial battle strategy is not enough to protect us from the enemy waging a war against us.
We use this foundation to dig into when the enemy tries to attack us, utilizing the truth found in the Gospel of peace to stand firm against the devil's lies. The ground we walk on is territory of the Almighty, and when we recognize that and use that to our advantage, we weaken the enemy's voice and power.
These shoes, however, are also meant to be defensive. We can use these shoes to go, run, and tell everyone about this Gospel message. As we share the Gospel, we dislodge the enemy's hold on our generation and our communities, creating an even stronger force against his attacks. And, as we continue to spread the good news, we declare to the enemy: "Nothing, nothing at all will shake my belief and my trust in Yahweh, this God I serve, and no matter how hard you try, I will continue to stand firm on Jesus and spread His love everywhere I go." It's yet another battle tactic to push into the enemy's territory and cut off his lies.
Without these shoes, we lose our foundation. Our footing is no longer secure, and we're much more susceptible to falling into temptations and lies. We allow the enemy to push into our territory, take over our space and trample over our peace, and destroy our confidence.
So, it is clearly very important that we put on our shoes of readiness that comes from the Gospel of peace.
How, though? The million dollar question.
As I've done for the other posts in this series, I've created a tool for us to use to put on these shoes, effectively and practically. And, just like all the other posts, feel free to download or screenshot this image to reference in your own life. I'd really challenge you to choose at least one of these steps to practice every day, and prayerfully allow the Lord to teach you and reveal to you what you need to work on most.
As I learned about these shoes of peace, I found myself reflecting with a couple of questions. This helped me evaluate how well I was putting on this piece of armor, and how I may need to work on it a little bit more.
Am I living peacefully, with a peaceful mind and heart, or am I often finding myself anxious and afraid?
Am I standing firm on Scripture and what Jesus has done for me, or do I find myself falling back into old patterns of doubt and placing my identity and hope in the wrong things?
Am I ready to take on the enemy's attacks? Do I have strategic plans in place against his attacks?
Am I ready to go out and share the Gospel? How often have I actually done that?
Reflect on these questions a little bit, and if you want to inspire good conversations with your friends or small group, ask them as well! This has been extremely beneficial and has allowed the Lord to reveal things in my heart, and I would definitely encourage you to do the same.
ALSO!
A super great resource for you to use if you're interested in learning more about these shoes is to visit this GotQuestions article! It really helped me as I learned and prepared for this post, and I thought it might help you as well. There are actually so many articles by GotQuestions over pretty much every possible question you could have related to the Bible, and so this is an awesome tool to help you in your walk with the Lord!
I know I say it every time, but this series has genuinely taught me so much, and I can honestly say that as I learn alongside you, my faith is growing and my relationship with the Lord is strengthening. Spiritual warfare is absolutely real, and all Christians are especially targeted by the enemy, so we must be armored up to defend ourselves against the devil.
It is my prayer that you've learned as much as I have throughout this series! Let me know in the comments below what you've learned from this post, or from the other posts in the Armor of God series, and/or how you're working on applying it!
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