Daily Devotional

As a child, I always thought the “armor of God” sounded like the coolest thing. If you were to ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, a knight would have been pretty high on the list. When I read through the list of spiritual armor listed in Ephesians 6 pieces like “the sword of the Spirit” and “the shield of faith” jumped out to me. As I grew, I learned the significance of each piece. The one piece of armor that always seemed a bit strange to me was the part found in verse 15, “and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.” Shoes don’t really seem that exciting when you compare it to a sword or shield, but this in-fact is a pivotal piece.

John Piper summarizes this verse by saying, “I think it means, ‘Let your feet be ready to move with the Gospel.’” What does it look like to be ready to move with the Gospel? I recently had an encounter with a neighbor that I think illustrates this idea quite well.

My wife Megan and I were going for a walk around our block. It was a Sunday afternoon which meant the next morning was Monday, or in our neighborhood, trash day. Several houses already had their trashcans out or were in the process of taking them out. As we were about a quarter mile from our house, we noticed one house in particular that had a trashcan moving very slowly around the corner of their house. Instead of tipped back on its wheels, this trashcan was flat on its bottom scraping slowly as it was nudged from behind.

Upon further inspection, we saw it was an elderly man who was trying to get the very large trashcan around the corner and down the driveway to the curb. I quickly ran over to help him. This, however, is not a story of me helping someone move their trashcan, it’s a story of what my neighbor did next.

After thanking me for the help he immediately started to preach the Gospel to us. He didn’t know that my wife and I were already believers or that I’m a pastor at a local church, he just saw an opportunity to seize the moment and tell two strangers about his Savior. His feet might have been having a difficult time moving a trashcan but let me tell you, they were VERY ready to move with the Gospel.

Wherever you are, whoever you encounter, are you ready to move with the Gospel? I believe God provides more opportunities to minister to others than we are really aware of. If we shift our outlook slightly, we may see opportunities all around us.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.