“If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot from doing your own pleasure on My holy day, and call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and honor it, desisting from your own ways, from seeking your own pleasure and speaking your own word, then you will take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father."
Isaiah 58:13-14 (NASB®)
What an amazing promise! And it all starts with “turning our feet!”
Surrender to His will
Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground” (Exodus 3:5 NASB®).
When Moses wanted to get closer to the burning bush God commanded him to remove his sandals from his feet. In the Presence of the Lord a humble heart that surrenders to His will is needed.
To be able to stand in front of God, the consuming fire according to Hebrews 12:29, we must surrender our will and stand in humility before Him, ready to follow Jesus wherever He wants us to go.
In his presence self is set aside. All of our plans and desires fade away.
To stand before Him is to stand in a heightened state of surrender. Our bare feet symbolize our humility, our recognition of submission to His will.
Stepping Out in Faith
“It shall come about when the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan will be cut off, and the waters which are flowing down from above will stand in one heap” (Joshua 3:13 NASB®).
Getting ready for the second coming of Jesus starts with humbling ourself and surrendering our will to Him. But then we must be ready to go and fulfill the Mission Jesus gives us.
Here the priests had to show their faith that God was speaking by stepping into the water. They had to get wet before they could see God work.
We too have to step out in faith! We have to get wet! The water only parts once we’re in it! That’s faith!
Years ago as a spiritual babe I asked God to guide me, to tell me what to do. I wanted his direction to me to be clear and real.
The answer came as I was walking in front of an apartment complex. I heard a voice telling me to approach the main door and press the button for apartment 5A.
What!? I said in my mind. I am not ready to do that! What will I tell the person in the house? This is crazy! Is this thought even from God?
I suddenly realized that stepping out in faith is risky, scary, not as easy to do as I had thought.
I walked back and forth in front of the door. I was nervous as my finger reached for the buzzer. My feet were figuratively feeling quite wet!
I rang the buzzer. No one came. Now I was frustrated. Why would the Lord ask me to do something so useless?
But then a voice spoke to me, “How can you be ready for my second coming if you don’t have faith to do something as small as this?” Then I realized how small my faith was and that if my faith couldn’t take action it was dead.
I felt small, insignificant, like I had failed Jesus. I asked God to show me what to do next.
Receiving Forgiveness From Our Sins
Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me” (John 13:8 NASB®).
Letting Jesus wash our feet shows our surrender to Him. In washing our feet he washes away our fears, our doubts, and creates a new beginning today.
Don’t wait for tomorrow to surrender, surrender today! In that surrender we come to realize that the burden is not on us to do something big. It is not our responsibility to impress or be amazing.
Our hearts can rest in quietness and peace, we can ride on the heights of the earth, we can be fed with the heritage of Jacob as long as we turn our feet from our own way, our own plans, our own desires. Then our hearts can truly rest in Him.
That’s what the “feet” symbolize in the Bible, our hearts.
Call to Action
Are we ready to give our hearts to the Lord, to receive His forgiveness so that we can go out as His servants today filled with His empowering Spirit?
Friends, it’s time to get ready! Let us not wait! Let us turn our feet to Him!
Jesus is coming soon. Get ready today!
