Ephesians 6:15
And your feet shod with the preparation
of the gospel of peace;
This item of armor is more than what covers our feet: it laces all the way up the calf, just like the ancient Roman soldiers wore. Everywhere he looked he could clearly see how a Roman soldier was dressed. So this is how The Spirit led him to define our Christian armor.
Paul was surrounded by Roman soldiers at all times, though he could move somewhat freely, as his feet were chained, but his hands were perhaps, left somewhat unfettered, leaving him able to write all these lovely letters to the churches in the cities in which he had preached the gospel of peace, the gospel of Jesus Christ.
(Had he not been in chains, Paul still would not have run away. He had appealed to Caesar for his release, and to Caesar he must go: voluntarily. Yet, because he had been arrested for speaking The Name of Jesus Christ, and refusing to stop speaking salvation through Christ's Name, his arrest was inevitable.)
Now we have here the preparation of the gospel of peace. Before we can even step out into spiritual warfare in the upper realms, we must needs have our feet and legs wrapped in impenetrable footwear. For it is our feet and legs which stabilize our balance and make it possible for us to move from one place to another. An unbalanced spiritual warrior will fail and fall.
Therefore we must place the preparation on our feet and lace our sandals all the way up to our knees, even covering the knee caps. We've seen enough action movies to know that if the knee gets shot out, the one being shot goes down and scrambles to remain upright and in motion. How do we do that?
We must be ready at all times to move swiftly when the need arises. And we must also be ready to take a stand for the gospel and not back down. Proper footwear is to be ready to give an answer for what we believe. It is to have the knowledge of The Word of Wisdom which makes it possible for us not only stand our ground, but withstand the oncoming assaults in spiritual warfare. We cannot run away from the battle we have either instigated, or joined in with.
BE READY TO GIVE AN ANSWER
1 Peter 3:15
But sanctify The Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of The Hope that is in you with meekness and fear.
WALK WORTHY
Colossians 1:10
That you might walk worthy of The Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the Knowledge of God.
STAND FIRM
1 Corinthians 16:13
Be on the alert. Stand firm in the faith. Be men of courage. Be strong.
WITHSTAND
Psalm 31:24
Be strong and courageous, all you who Hope in The LORD.
WALK IN THE SPIRIT
Galatians 5:25
If we live in The Spirit, let us also walk in The Spirit.
RUN TO THE BATTLE
2 Samuel 22:30
For by You I can run against a troop; By my God I can leap over a wall.
RUN FOR THE REWARD
1 Corinthians 9:24, 25
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way as to take the prize. Everyone who competes in the games trains with strict discipline. They do it for a crown that is perishable, but we do it for a crown that is imperishable.
Preparation implies a need for readiness. The first step to readiness is our own salvation. Are you saved? Do you believe that Jesus Christ is Lord? And if you do believe, are you listening to The Holy Spirit, Who is trying to teach you the holy way of righteous living which God has prepared for you to live?
And if you have these first two items in your quiver, are you also serving The Lord with Joy in your hearts? We should not be proud to be serving God, we should be rejoicing that God chose us to serve Him. We should be thankful and watchful at all times, ready to repel the darts of pridefulness, status, envy, jealousy which attempt to shoot through our armor. These things can knock us down in spiritual warfare.
Are you filled with the Knowledge of God's Holy Word on a daily basis? Even if you don't have the whole Bible at your fingertips, you can still hear from God every day, if you can only learn to distinguish His Voice from the devil's voice. The devil wants to destroy us. God wants to save us. The devil speaks lies. God speaks Truth. The devil hates us for many reasons, namely because he is jealous of how much God loves us. God loves because He love.
Get ready to stand. run forward, walk uprightly and speak The Word of Life!
