Some of you may have noticed me recently hob-bling about. This was because I’d had an injury to my toe (2nd on left), which then triggered off a bout of gout in the joint of my big toe (Left), which gave more pain than the toe injury had.
One is thankful now to be getting back to one’s more normal gait.
You have to admit, our feet are vitally important for life in this world; they have to bare the weight of our bodies, no matter what, in order for us to move around and attend to our daily needs and commitments. And, of course, we do sympathize with those who have lost the strength to walk and have to rely on others to help them.
The Bible has quite a lot to say about feet. They are mentioned, apparently, in some 113 verses.
There’s a lovely thought in Psalm 121, where the writer, speaking of the Lord, says in vs 3: He will not let your foot slip; NIV, or as in the NLT He will not let you stumble; and the NLV He will not let your feet go out from under you. As we get older, we surely feel the need of that sort of encouragement to trust Him.
I find it fascinating reading about the children of Israel when they traipsed for 40 years through the wilderness before entering the Promised land. Shortly before they were to cross the Jordan river, Moses, who wouldn’t be going with them, remind-ed them of God’s gracious dealings with them, despite their clear propensity to sin against Him, and one thing he mentions is Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. (Deuteronomy 8:4) Imagine wearing the same clothes for 40 years and same sandals, and nothing wearing out, and your feet not swell-ing in the harsh terrain – even with gout!
Centuries later, when the people of Judah had returned from captivity in Babylon, the Levites in Jerusalem have them remembering and giving thanks to the Lord, by recounting all that He had done for them. In Nehemiah 9; 21 they say to the Lord: For forty years you sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing, their clothes did not wear out nor did their feet become swollen.
How thankful those weary people must have felt for their Creator’s care.
I thank God for the associate evangelists we have in Outreach UK, who on foot, or by other means, bring the good news of Jesus to many parts of the UK, even on the mountains – or at least the hills. And we’re thankful for our pastor, Calix, and others of us who stand to ‘say to Zion’ (the Church) & remind us ‘Your God reigns!’
If we’re fearful of so doing, remember that amongst the spiritual armour Paul mentions in Ephesians 6, in vs 15 is about having ‘your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
Surely there’s no doubt, no spiritual gout must keep us from that!
This was a significant demonstration of God’s sovereign power in keeping His unfaithful, yet beloved people, safe and well.
But another reference to feet – and beautiful ones at that – is found in Isaiah 52:7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
But the Lord wants us each to be using our feet, physically or spiritually speaking, to share that good news of a wonderful Saviour.
Steve
May 2024
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