SEARCHLIGHT
Are your feet honoring God?
SCRIPTURE
Look, there on the mountains, the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace! Celebrate your festivals, Judah, and fulfill your vows. No more will the wicked invade you; they will be completely destroyed. Nahum 1:15 NIV
SPOTLIGHT
Imagine there is this magnificent restaurant that has rave reviews. You long to be able to try their food. Someone gives you a gift certificate for a free meal. You are ecstatic. But then you hear that there is one requirement everyone must meet before entering the restaurant. You do not have to show your form of payment. Neither do you have to identify what you are going to choose to eat from the menu. Instead, you, along with everyone else, must take off their shoes and socks and go barefoot into this elite establishment. What would you do? Would you be willing to go? Suppose you have a foot condition or your feet stink. Would you still enter the restaurant?
Most people are not quick to make their feet the showcase of their appearance. Feet are not considered to be the most attractive part of a person’s body. Like many people, I am hesitant to walk barefoot because my feet will be seen. The fact is that feet are often covered up with socks or shoes. And feet often go unappreciated for what they do.
Feet are necessary for you to be mobile. They allow you to connect and communicate. As long as they get you from Point A to Point B, you probably pay little attention to them. However, the moment you stub your toe, your movement stops. Then you realize just how important your feet are to your well-being.
Would you like to have attractive feet that will never cause you embarrassment or discomfort? God has a prescription for having beautiful feet. This is today’s Scripture focus. Under the direction of the Holy Spirit, the prophet Nahum prophesied about the Ninevites being defeated and destroyed. He described how the messengers of good news would come over the mountains to tell the Jewish people that their arch-enemies had been conquered and wiped out. No longer did the Jewish people have to be scared. The messengers’ news was that everyone was now safe, and it was time to celebrate and give thanks to God. How did the messengers of the good news connect and communicate? They used their feet.
Do not miss it. God’s prescription for having beautiful feet is not having a foot massage, a foot manicure, going to a foot spa, having an operation or bathing your feet in oils. Instead, it is simply this:
- Have good news feet. Be a person who carries the good news of the Gospel. When you meet people, offer hope. God has given you hope. Encourage people about the future. You know that you do not know what the future holds but you do know the One who holds the future. Tell people that Jesus Christ is the living God Who left heaven to come to planet earth to die in order to save people from their sin which separates them from loving God.
- Have quick moving feet. Be a person who is excited about communicating the most important news everyone needs to hear. You have the privilege of giving people the news that will forevermore alter their lives. The Good News or Gospel is that Jesus Christ came to give all who will believe abundant life now, here on earth, and eternal life to come in heaven. Every day should be a quick moving feet day. Use your feet to open doors to share the Gospel. Realize that every person who crosses your path is someone you can share the good news with or pray for.
- Have peace messaging feet. Be a person waving the peace flag. Become a peacemaker. How? Sharing the Good News will lead people to experience peace with God, peace with themselves and peace with other people. Somebody used their feet to come to tell you how much God loves you. They communicated how God could forgive you for all the things you regretted and, in addition, make you a completely whole person. Since you believed that message, you know how your life has been filled with an unbelievable peace. Let your feet do the walking so that you can do the peace talking.
Let me tell you about Mother Teresa’s Good News feet. In his book entitled “The Irresistible Revolution,” Shane Claiborne describes how he spent a summer in the slums of Calcutta with Mother Teresa. He writes, “People often ask me what Mother Teresa was like. Did she glow in the dark or have a halo? She was short, wrinkled, and precious, maybe even a little ornery - like a beautiful, wise, old granny. But there is one thing I will never forget – her feet were deformed. Each morning during Mass, I would stare at those feet. I wondered if Mother Teresa had leprosy. But I wasn’t going to ask of course. One day, a sister asked us, “Have you noticed Mother’s feet?” We nodded, curious. She said, “Her feet are deformed because we get just enough donated shoes for everyone, and Mother does not want anyone to get stuck with the worst pair, so she digs through and finds those. Years of wearing bad shoes have deformed her feet.” That is the kind of love that places our neighbors’ needs above our own.”
In God’s eyes, Mother Teresa had beautiful feet. How attractive are your feet? God says you will have beautiful feet when you passionately share the Good News with people. Does God think your feet are beautiful?
SOMETHING TO DO
Nahum 1:15 is also repeated by the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 52:7 and the Apostle Paul in Romans 10:15. Look up those verses. Read the context. Then ask yourself why the authors used this imagery of beautiful feet.
SOUL TIME PRAYER
Lord God, I want to have beautiful feet. No longer am I concerned about warts or yellow toenails. No longer do I care about I how appear to people for having communicated the Good News. Lord Jesus, I want You to make me aware of all the opportunities I have to share the Gospel. Empower me with the Holy Spirit to fulfill the Great Commission [Matthew 29:19,20]. May I be quick to share Your love and peace. AMEN