February 4 I Thursday

Exodus 34-35

Matthew 22:23-46

 

“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!’”  —Isaiah 52:7

 

We may think the opening verse would make more sense if it said, “How beautiful is the tongue of the one who brings good news?” There are many occasions in Scripture where God focuses on the feet of His messengers, but why specifically their feet? I suggest it is because feet are the first part of our anatomy that God requires. When Paul urges that we offer our bodies as “a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God” (Romans 12:1), this starts with a readiness to be moved to the right place.

     

After God has our feet, the next thing He needs is our eyes. Samaritans were rejected by the Jews, but when Jesus passed through Samaria, He stayed outside the city to talk with a Samaritan woman. The disciples were astonished by this blatant disregard for Jewish custom, but Jesus reprimanded them, saying, “I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest” (John 4:35). Wherever God sends us, we are to walk with eyes open to those in physical and spiritual need.

     

Next, we are to give God our ears. Jeremiah 23 talks about false prophets who spoke messages from their own minds and presented their own ideas as though they were speaking from God. God then asked, “But which of them has stood in the council of the LORD to see or to hear His word?” (Jeremiah 23:18). We must certainly open our ears to people’s stories and struggles, just as it is important to know Scripture and be sensitive to what God speaks from heaven and places in our hearts. We then give Him our tongues. Isaiah 50:4 says, “The Sovereign LORD has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary.” As we listen to the Spirit’s voice, He equips us with the right words to share the gospel with those He has made ripe for the harvest.

     

God works in us according to His good purpose and once we are submitted to Christ, this starts with surrendered feet. We can be willing to speak for God, but our well-instructed tongues will be of no value if we are speaking in the wrong place. Some of us try to conditionally give God our feet, allowing free movement provided He keeps us in a certain town or near our families. But surrendering our feet means giving up our rights to decide where we will serve Him. Whether in foreign mission fields, at home, or in our schools, communities and workplaces, as Christians, we are God’s agents to go where He calls us.

 

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I surrender my feet, eyes, ears and mouth. Thank You for preparing me to move, to see people in need, to hear the voice of Your Spirit and to speak Your truth.

 


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