Remember in the movie "Forrest Gump" when Forrest was sitting on the bench talking about his magic shoes. He said his Momma had told him that a person could tell a lot from a person's shoes. "Where they been. Where they going". The bottoms of a person's shoes or feet do tell a lot about where they have been or where they have taken them selves. There maybe stains or scars on the soles of the feet.
Some steps were planned, maybe some were not; but the sole is evidence of steps taken. I walk a little pronated so the bottoms of my shoes wear unevenly (I wear the outside of the heels more). The evidence of my steps is in the sole. Man the analogies are so thick here you have to brush them away from your mind just so you can keep reading. Keep reading, this is going to be a short one.
If you have been around toddlers there have been times when you have held your hand out to them to take that step away from the table, couch, or chair that is providing them stability. They see your hand and it's just out there. Not so far that the idea of taking it is too risky but not close enough to grip them before they let go of their perceived safety. But, if they trust you, if you have held them up as they have learned to stand and take the first tentative steps, then they trust. That doesn't make the letting go any less scary, but the fear of letting go is outweighed by the confidence in that outstretched hand. Before you know it, they are in the kitchen cupboards or playing in the toilet water (you know what I'm talking about).
Long after you are a toddler some steps are still scary to take. On my bucket list is Skydiving. I really want to do that; but I have no doubt that the first step out of the plane is going to be contrary to every instinct and impulse in my body. I will do it! I will!! Some steps aren't that dramatic but they are no less scary. Like that first step down the aisle; you are sure that you love this person and that it is the right decision, but you know everything changes with that first step. Or that last step that we all must take, if the Lord tarries, from this life to the next. Will there be a hand outstretched for us that we will see or know is there? Will we hesitate to let go of this mortality and take hold of immortality?? I dont know. I do know that some steps are scarier than others.
Psalm 37:23 says that, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delighteth in his way". I was swept up by that scripture today. I dont know about anyone else, but it's easy for me, when I read a promise like this, to get hung up on the conditional nature of the promise. It's in there, the steps of a GOOD MAN are ordered by the Lord. Well, that leaves me out then. I guess I am on my own, because I know how not-good I am or I can be.
That was the line I was offered immediately following the sweetness of the promise that came to my soul. I could not be qualified for that kind of direction or support given what I know about myself. Thankfully, Jesus just kept talking to me. "Jim do you think that the Good Man is someone who does it all right? or makes no mistakes regarding Me and my instruction?" In short that was what I thought. I made this promise about me and not about Him. See I wasn't good enough to have it apply to my life. Well that thinking was vain and foolish. If I could just be a little better then I could pay the price of admission. VANITY!!
I was reminded by the Righteous Judge, that the only way I qualify is because of Him and His sacrifice and seal on my life. I have "right standing with God" not because of anything that I do or don't do, but because he makes up the difference in my life with His Grace. That's hard to accept if you have fed yourself a steady diet of self-abasement and self-loathing. Strong words I know but thinking that we aren't or we can't because we don't do something is trying to take the Glory away from God, and He is the Lord and His Glory He will not give to another!
Giving God the Glory due His Name, takes a lot of pressure off of us, and the focus off of us too. So back to footsteps and footprints. Some times the step that faces you next looks so scary you end up looking for a reason NOT to let go. It's not that I don't trust you Lord, it's just well, I'm not that good and I'm not sure this step is ordered by you or not. Imagine the calamity that might occur if it is not?!? VANITY! It is scary. It is a very short long way. But He that Promised is Faithful to keep that promise if we will keep the focus on Him. He is really just asking for one more step anyway. Sure it's a long way. It's a long life. But it's all lived out one step at a time; by design and promise and by His Grace upon the lives of His children, each step is ordered-set-prescribed-determined-established-planned-assured-safe-forward-toward home.
Focus on the hand that is outstretched and the voice of the One assuring us that the next step will be alright because He has made it right for you. In fact it could not be a better step. It's the perfect step. That's a whole "nother" blog isn't. I will end here with this.
"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." Martin Luther King
God Bless you and don't be afraid to take the next step.
God Bless you and don't be afraid to take the next step.
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