Footwear of Readiness

In this series of posts, we have been studying the armor of God to see how we can use each piece to guard our faith. It isn’t enough to just know what each piece is; we need to understand them in order to use them properly. It is important to be proactive in doing so if we want to have a faith that endures no matter what trials we may face. If we wait until a trial or crisis of faith occurs to put these pieces on, then the battle will be much more difficult to win.
      We’ve already explored the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness. The third piece of armor that Paul talks about in Ephesians 6 is the footwear. He said to stand firm, “and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace” (v. 15, NIV).
      Jesus talked about readiness. He told a few parables about the importance of being ready for His return. He said, “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” (Matthew 24:44). We are to live ready for the eventual return of the Lord. We have no idea whether He will return during our lifetime or not, but, as Christians, we are called to be ready right now.
      Jesus rose again three days after being crucified and buried. After spending 40 days with the apostles, He ascended into heaven and His disciples were told that He would one day return (Acts 1:11). The Gospel brings us peace because we have this certainty. God has already proven Himself faithful and powerful enough to return in victory. We know that the current state of the world is temporary and that God will come bringing His kingdom. The crucifixion didn’t look like a victory until after Christ rose again. We cannot allow trials to diminish our faith in Him.
      It becomes easier to guard our faith when we live ready and put the footwear of the armor of God on. According to Dr. Tony Evans, “Roman soldiers wore sandals with cleats built in to help them have firm footing and to stand their ground under attack” (The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, p.1233). These soldiers were ready for whatever was required of them. If ordered to, they could go on long campaigns, be ready for ascents or descents, and stand and fight. Spiritually, we should be ready for the same.
      Living ready means that we are living in a manner pleasing to God. We honor his commands to love Him with everything we have and above all else, and to love and care for others (Matthew 22:36-40). When we live ready, our goal is to behave like Jesus and honor God.
      Our faith gets shaken when we go through trials. Some people wonder if God is even real. Being ready strengthens our belief in Him because we always live like He is. Many get angry or bitter when things get difficult and wonder why they should even keep following God. Living ready cultivates our allegiance to Him because we are committed to living according to His standard. Our culture has many elements that contradict how we are meant to behave as Christians. If we get used to standing firm for Him during our normal circumstances, then we’ll have more strength and stamina to stand firm during trials.
      Living ready gets us in the habit of looking forward to Jesus' return and to heaven. Most people lose sight of what’s to come and focus on the temporary. They cannot see past what they are currently going through. They look for immediate comfort instead of the eternal comfort God assures us will come. Spiritually, when it feels the battle is becoming too overwhelming, living ready helps us to dig the cleats of our footwear in so that we can continue to stand our ground and keep from falling and losing faith. It helps us to persevere, giving us the ability to keep moving forward until we meet up with Jesus. We know He is returning, He will have the victory, and the fruits of our salvation will come. This keeps us focused on Him and heaven rather than our current circumstances. 
      We cannot afford to be without our footwear of readiness. Through a parable, Jesus warned, “The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows” (Luke‬ ‭12:47). There are consequences to not living ready. It’s a gamble. You may have time to wake up and start doing what God commanded, or you may just run out of time. Don’t take the risk. Having your footwear on helps you to be kingdom minded and kingdom ready. Take an honest look at how you’re living and make sure you have this piece of the armor on.