If The Shoe Doesn't Fit...
You know that aha moment when you're simply minding your own business doing whatever and then all of a sudden you get a "revelation" of something deeper than what you were originally doing? No? Just me? lol. Either way, that exact thing happened to me recently. And no matter how many times I experience it I'm still just as amazed at God as the time before.
So, I was sitting in Church and my feet began to hurt in the shoes I was wearing. Not because they were necessarily too small (they were actually the same size I always wear), but because of the way these particular shoes were made they fit a little bit more snug. So much so that I eventually had to take them off for a little while. But as I was doing that I started to think of how that discomfort could very easily represent some of us in our daily walks with Christ...
Just like we have certain size feet tailored to fit a certain size shoe, God has already laid out the specific path that He desires for each of us to travel down. The path that fits us perfectly. Not too loose, not too tight. Yet sometimes we get so caught up in what the next person is doing (or not doing) that we deviate off of our own path and try to recreate what we see around us. We squeeze, stuff and try to make our size 8 feet fit into a size 6 shoe knowing that it was never our size to begin with. We throw ourselves into someone else's calling and then get discouraged when things don't work out the way we think they should (or the way we see it working for them). Well let me help you out real quick...perhaps the reason why what you've set out to do is not working out as well as it should is because it was never meant for you to do in the first place. It could have very well been a good idea, but was it a God idea? Did you specifically hear God tell you to make that move, or did you move based on what you wanted to do? It may have seemed nice, fun, or what have you, but if it's not what God has intended for you to do then it probably won't work out as well as it could if it was designed for you.
I mean, think about it. Would you really want to walk around all day in shoes that were either too big or too small for you? You might try to make it work for a little bit if you're really desperate, but eventually you would get tired of always having to stop and adjust. Who wants to go through all of that trouble when you could just get the right size to begin with?
"4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a]faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully."
How can you operate effectively in your calling if it was never even your call to pick up the phone and answer in the first place? We get so caught up in what everyone else is doing that we think we too have to be doing the same thing. Forgetting that God has given US our own grass to tend to as well. Our eyes are so fixated on other people's seemingly green grass that we can't even notice ours beginning to turn brown. How unfortunate would it be for us to do all this stuff on earth, die and get to Heaven, and then hear God say"you did a good job of copying what everyone else was doing, but what about all of the stuff that I specifically wanted YOU to do?"
God has placed each of us on this earth for a specific reason and purpose. While we're here, it is our job to recognize that purpose and to walk in it [boldly]. If God wanted us all to do the same thing, He would have given us all the exact same gift, with the exact same talents, and the exact same mind. But there's beauty to be found in the simple fact that He chose not to do that. So, all of that to say, let's stop trying to squeeze our feet into shoes that were never meant for us to fill and let's confidently walk in the one's that God perfectly designed just for us. Trust me, it'll look and feel SO much better. 😊
So, I was sitting in Church and my feet began to hurt in the shoes I was wearing. Not because they were necessarily too small (they were actually the same size I always wear), but because of the way these particular shoes were made they fit a little bit more snug. So much so that I eventually had to take them off for a little while. But as I was doing that I started to think of how that discomfort could very easily represent some of us in our daily walks with Christ...
Just like we have certain size feet tailored to fit a certain size shoe, God has already laid out the specific path that He desires for each of us to travel down. The path that fits us perfectly. Not too loose, not too tight. Yet sometimes we get so caught up in what the next person is doing (or not doing) that we deviate off of our own path and try to recreate what we see around us. We squeeze, stuff and try to make our size 8 feet fit into a size 6 shoe knowing that it was never our size to begin with. We throw ourselves into someone else's calling and then get discouraged when things don't work out the way we think they should (or the way we see it working for them). Well let me help you out real quick...perhaps the reason why what you've set out to do is not working out as well as it should is because it was never meant for you to do in the first place. It could have very well been a good idea, but was it a God idea? Did you specifically hear God tell you to make that move, or did you move based on what you wanted to do? It may have seemed nice, fun, or what have you, but if it's not what God has intended for you to do then it probably won't work out as well as it could if it was designed for you.
I mean, think about it. Would you really want to walk around all day in shoes that were either too big or too small for you? You might try to make it work for a little bit if you're really desperate, but eventually you would get tired of always having to stop and adjust. Who wants to go through all of that trouble when you could just get the right size to begin with?
If the shoe doesn't fit, take it off.
What God has called you to do may look completely different than what He has called the person next to you to do, and guess what? That's. Perfectly. Okay! In fact, it should and it's even necessary. A body can't function if all the parts are the same. It needs the different parts to do what only they can do individually so that the body can work effectively as a whole. Romans 12:4-8 tells us"4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a]faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully."
How can you operate effectively in your calling if it was never even your call to pick up the phone and answer in the first place? We get so caught up in what everyone else is doing that we think we too have to be doing the same thing. Forgetting that God has given US our own grass to tend to as well. Our eyes are so fixated on other people's seemingly green grass that we can't even notice ours beginning to turn brown. How unfortunate would it be for us to do all this stuff on earth, die and get to Heaven, and then hear God say"you did a good job of copying what everyone else was doing, but what about all of the stuff that I specifically wanted YOU to do?"
God has placed each of us on this earth for a specific reason and purpose. While we're here, it is our job to recognize that purpose and to walk in it [boldly]. If God wanted us all to do the same thing, He would have given us all the exact same gift, with the exact same talents, and the exact same mind. But there's beauty to be found in the simple fact that He chose not to do that. So, all of that to say, let's stop trying to squeeze our feet into shoes that were never meant for us to fill and let's confidently walk in the one's that God perfectly designed just for us. Trust me, it'll look and feel SO much better. 😊
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