[Honeykiss1974]

New Shoes

By Tomeco N. Woods
CBN Staff Writer

My daughter’s feet seem to grow like grass in the spring. Every few months I know it is time to go shoe shopping because she will begin to complain, "These shoes hurt my toes." This cycle will continue until she has reached the size and height that God has determined her to be.

Like my daughter’s feet, believers continue to grow until we have become the men and women of God that He has predestined us to be. We must steadily grow toward the goal of perfection. "But wait," you say, "No one is perfect except Christ." The perfection of which I speak, however, is not a state of sinlessness, but rather spiritual maturity. It is God’s will for us to be perfect: mature and complete in Him.

"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48).

Have you ever heard people say, "Pastor really stepped on my toes today," meaning the Word that went forth addressed their individual lives and convicted them of some error? When our toes begin hurting even in our favorite shoes (those areas in our lives we thought we had spiritually mastered), it is God’s way of informing us that we have grown. Sometimes, though, we get so comfortable where we are that we refuse to move forward.

- "We have been members of the same church since childhood, why should we change now that we are middle-aged?"

- "I have been with the company for 17 years. I am three years from retirement. The Lord can not be telling me to leave now."

- "I faithfully give my ten percent tithe. What does God mean I should start giving fifteen percent instead?"

Whether because of fear or doubt, which are the same thing, we remain in our comfort zones because it is familiar territory. We like having the safety net of a "guaranteed" paycheck from our employers rather than the risk of opening our own businesses. We must open our spiritual eyes and begin to look at things the way God does.

The economy is evidence alone that there is no such thing as "guaranteed" employment any longer. The only financial guarantee is that if you are a child of God, He will supply all your need (Philippians 4:19). If God has promised you a business of your own, He must have also promised to send the customers as well. If the customers do not come right away, He must have promised to sustain you in the meantime. If God is sending you to a new ministry or to a new fellowship within your current ministry, it is because your purpose in the old one is complete. God’s goal for you in that ministry has been met, and it is time to move forward. We always want God to manifest Himself in greater ways in our lives, but we never want to do greater things for Him. You can not continually give $5.00 offerings and expect to receive million dollar blessings.

Your current position in ministry or on the job was fine for a season, but it is sinful to remain there once that season has passed. It is sinful because remaining anywhere after God has told you to move is rebellion.

"For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry" (1 Samuel 15:23).

We need to recognize the seasons in our lives and move and act accordingly. Often, we hold up our own blessings because we have failed to let go and move forward. When Joseph was sold into slavery and sent to Egypt, it was necessary so that he would be in place to bless God’s people. Years passed, Joseph was elevated and the famine drove Israel into Egypt, but when the famine came and went Israel did not. The memory of Joseph faded in the minds of the Egyptians, but not as rapidly as did his influence. A new pharaoh arose who was threatened by the presence of Israel. Hence came the oppression and bondage. God used pharaoh to make Israel so uncomfortable in Egypt they had no choice but to leave (Exodus 3).

In 2 Kings 7 (verses 3-8) we read the account of a group of lepers who dwelled outside of the gates of the besieged city. They were not allowed to enter the city because of their condition. They could not go beyond the immediate vicinity of the city because the Syrian army surrounded it. Tired of being in limbo, they finally decided to make a move. If they stayed where they were, they would die of starvation. If they broke the law and entered the city, they could possibly die of starvation. But if they went to the Syrian camp, there was a chance they would be fed. Even if the Syrians killed them, the lepers reasoned their fate would be no less than if they stayed put.

"If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die" (2 Kings 7:4). In later verses we find that when the lepers stepped out in faith and went to the enemy’s camp, God had a blessing waiting for them that they did not even have room to receive. God made the footsteps of four leprous men sound like an Egyptian army and caused the Syrians to flee in fear leaving behind all they owned.

What do you have to lose by stepping out in faith? The better question is what do you have to gain? If your spiritual feet are cramping relentlessly, perhaps it is God’s way of telling you it is time for a new pair of shoes. Do not be afraid to heed God’s call and step out into unfamiliar territory. God will honor your obedience and the blessing that will come is far beyond anything you could imagine in your wildest dreams. Stop trying to figure out what God is doing, where He is taking you and why. Do not try to dull the pain by adding corn pads and insoles. Alleviate the pain in your feet and go shoe shopping. The pain is God’s way of telling you it is time for new shoes.