We used to play tug of war in school pretty often. Sometimes the PE teacher would pit us against each other one on one and others group vs group. I learned early on that tug of war was as much or more about footing as it was strength. In one of my one on one battles the other kid taught me that lesson. While we were pulling against each other and there was tension in the rope, he let go for a split second. The immediate release of tension caused me to lose my footing. He then grabbed the rope and easily pulled me to his side. He had dug in with his feet and only released the rope. Without sure footing, I didn’t stand a chance of winning.
In Daniel 3, the Hebrews had been taken to Babylon in captivity. The culture of Babylon was very pagan and immediately created tension for the Israelites. One of the tug of war battles that ensued was King Nebuchadnezzar set up a gold statue and told everyone that they had to bow down to it when they heard music. Anyone who refused would be thrown into a fiery furnace. There were three Hebrew men who refused to bow to any other god, but God. When they were confronted, they dug their feet in and stood their ground. The king was so angry that he increased the heat of the fire seven times hotter to put them in it. However, we he looked, they were walking around unbound with a fourth. The king called them out and made a new declaration to protect their ability worship God.
Ephesians 6:14-15 says, “So stand firm and hold your ground,… HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS (an upright heart), and having strapped on YOUR FEET THE GOSPEL OF PEACE IN PREPARATION [to face the enemy with firm-footed stability and the readiness produced by the good news]” (AMP). We are living in a similar tension today in how the culture around us is trying to pull us away from our beliefs, values and how God said we should live. In order to stand, we must get firm footing by knowing what God says and standing firm on it. Our enemy has been twisting it since the Garden of Eden in order to get us to lose our footing. We need to be ready and able to stand for God in a world that bows to convenience over conviction. We dig our feet in through trusting God and His Word no matter the consequences. We must be wearing the shoes of the Gospel of Peace as we walk through this world.
Image by Google Gemini
