Friday, November 18, 2022

To wear the shoes of readiness of the Armor of God (Ephesians 6:15) means being able to do what God asks to fulfill His purpose. Every Christian needs to be ready before they run into God’s Good fight, or they will trip and fall hard. To wear the shoes as a soldier of God means to be ready in and out of season to protect, fight, and put in place the Good News of Jesus (2 Timothy 4:2). That is what the shoes of readiness are about: being ready to take action to uphold God’s wellness at any time and all costs. 

Observing those who fall, it’s easy to see the problem. Christian soldiers fall hard in their faith because they are not ready. They don’t know what they are doing, stray from the truth, and refuse to listen to simple instructions from the Commander and His appointed officials. Like children playing Army in their backyard, they are not in the actual battle. Rather than preparing themselves to be “Good” troops, these undeveloped soldiers of Christ are doing everything but following the conditions of Christian warfare - Love! It’s sad because they are hurting themselves and their fellow soldiers to gain victory in God’s strategy of winning the war of Goodness (2 Tim 4:7).         

It’s pretty interesting when observing the Lord’s Army today. Even at a second glance, all seems lost. Watching and praying today and seeing the challenges of the Lord’s immature Army, it seems “readiness” is declining more than ever. The strategy and warfare look most like the enemy rather than friendly forces. Today, many Christian thought patterns are treasonous, their desires are corrupt, and their actions miss the target of triumphant living. Where is the motivation for readiness? Is there a likelihood of getting out of this dark foxhole? 

As mature soldiers in God’s Army understand, the hope of a ready force stands in one place and one place only; it is the one and only Commander and Chief of The Lord’s Army - Jesus Christ! Only being ready in the mindset, character, and performance of Christ is the resolve to raise a napping force of God. This means that any person putting on the proper shoes of “Readiness” requires several things to reestablish God’s Love as a good fighter. It requires discipline, concentration, and patience, which we’ll address in the following devotion.       

Until the upcoming devotion, I encourage all to know and understand what The Shoes of Readiness are and why you need to be ready to put them on at any given moment. Today, put on the Shoes of Readiness instead of the slippers of carelessness to reap the benefits of being in the Lord’s Army full-time. Putting on God’s Shoes properly helps you become the person He needs you to be; He needs you to be a mighty worrier “ready” to fight for His excellent cause.

With a ready mind, heart, and soul,

~ Pastor Drake