14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; (italics added) Ephesians 6:14-15, NKJV
I run. I have for several years now. I don’t really run because I like running, although I do enjoy the benefits and the feeling after a good long run. I started running in order to get some discipline in my life, so I decided to train for a marathon. Fast forward a few years. I got really lazy in my training and only did the long runs one year and…. as you might guess… injured my heel which has plagued me with planar fasciitis for over a year. Fast forward again. About a year ago, I started changing my running style to take all the impact out of my running by going to more of a “barefoot style” running – simply put, I land on the ball of my foot and then let my heel touch before springing off my foot for the next step. This style takes a while to build up stamina and strength in your calves as they do A LOT more work.
Last year, I purchased a pair of shoes called Vibram Five Fingers which are basically gloves for your feet with “fingers” for your toes and all. They have zero support and are basically a sole for your foot so you can run barefoot style without gettting cut up or bruised from rocks and stuff in the road.
I say all that to say this. Yesterday, I ran too far in my shoes and I got serious blisters on both feet. I had been running about 2-2.25 miles in the Vibrams and then I would change into my running shoes and run 2 or 3 more miles. That is my normal M.O. That is what I do and how I build up endurance.
Yesterday, I tried to run 4 miles in my Vibrams. This is NOT me. At 3.3 miles, my feet were so hot (where the blisters are now brilliantly showing themselves) that I took my shoes off and walked the rest of the way home barefoot… in the grass… gingerly.
On the way home, Papa brought to mind Eph 6:15. The NIV version says “…with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.“ When I asked how this all fit together, He showed me:
Don’t give the opposition a second thought. Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you’re living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy. Keep a clear conscience before God so that when people throw mud at you, none of it will stick. They’ll end up realizing that they’re the ones who need a bath. It’s better to suffer for doing good, if that’s what God wants, than to be punished for doing bad. (I Peter 3:14-17, The Message)
and
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. (Psalms 139:14, NKJV)
What God showed me in that I don’t have to be anyone else. While I can look to others who are farther along this life of transformation; those I consider spiritual giants; those heroes of the faith; I am NOT to strive to be like them. God made me to be me. According to the Ephesians passage, I am to know and understand and live in Truth and Righteousness. This brings all glory to God. But I don’t have to wear anyone else’s shoes. When I do, I get blisters, they rub my feet wrong. They slow down my pace. I just have to be me (crucified) in Him. If I try to be someone else, I am not living the 1 Peter passage. I won’t “Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why I’m living the way…” I am. I praise him for make me just like I am. I am free to be me in Him. That’s how I’ll be most effective for His purposes and to give him all the glory and praise that He is due.
Running After Papa…