One of the chapters that captivated me most was where Dorothy is delivered to the Witch's castle by the flying monkeys. The witch is terrified when she sees Dorothy standing before her in the powerful Ruby Slippers. Yes... It's The Witch that's terrified! But then she realizes that Dorothy doesn't understand the magic of the shoes. So she commands Dorothy to do whatever she's told. That's right... out of ignorance, Dorothy becomes her slave.I remember reading that and making the parallel in my mind of Dorothy and the Ruby Slippers to The Christian and The Holy Spirit. As believers in Christ, we have the Power and Presence of the Almighty God in our life. Scripture tells us in Romans 8:11...
...the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead,
dwells in us!
So why then do we so easily succumb to
sin? the world? the enemy of our soul?
It's just not right! It ought not to be!
I have this picture, in my mind that continually haunts me. It's a woman who finds a beautifully wrapped gift. She opens it up to find the most magnificent pair of magical RED shoes. Tossing the directions aside, she takes them from the box and places them on her feet. She's overheard people talk about "the magical shoes", but she, herself is perplexed as to how they work or what they actually do.
She spends hours trying to figure them out. In her weariness and frustration, she ends up taking one of them off her feet and starts banging it on the table. Still... nothing! Eventually, she slips the shoe back on her foot, slouches back in her chair to rest and, accidentally, clicks her heels together. Poof! she disappears.
I've come to realize that the person in this dream is Me.
So I started this year off in RED shoes. Everyday I put them on as a VISUAL REMINDER that God's Presence and Power is in my life. I look for The Holy Spirit every day, and blog on my observations, thoughts and experiences. O.k. so I know what some of you are thinking... "Gail, have you picked up the instruction manual this time? " Yes I have. As I travel along this Yellow Brick Road, I am studying the best authority there is on The Holy Spirit... the Bible.
I'm learning a lot! One of the KEY things that I've discovered is that although I'm really just wearing ordinary RED shoes everyday... they are magically transforming my life! Yes... Of course I know that the "magic" or "power" is not in the shoes themselves, but in the fact that I'm looking for God's power and presence continually, BUT... putting the shoes on everyday is a crucial component. I love that term, "VISUAL REMINDER". Without the shoes, it would be so easy to forget to look... to fail to notice... to overlook... to get distracted by all the other things! And then what? Nothing. I will have missed it! I will have missed Him... God! Quite frankly, on any given day, if God is showing up in my life, I don't want to miss that! And I'm just realizing that God has showed up... many, many times... and I have missed Him!
Consistency is also part of the magic. Consistency is doing the same thing, the same way, over and over again. Wearing the shoes, consistently, day after day, (never missing even one), causes me to look for Him, day after day, (never missing even one). The Bible promises...
"You will seek me and find me
when you search for me with all your heart.
I will be found by you declares the Lord!"
Jeremiah 29:13-14a
So every day...
- I put on The shoes,
- and I look for God
- until I find Him.
I'm hoping that some of you might travel this Yellow Brick Road with me. Even if it's just for a day, here and there. Pop on your RED shoes, look for Him, and tell me about it! I want to hear from you.
Now, I'm not saying to throw on your most stunning RED stilettos like it's some kind of fashion show! Trust me, the temptation to strut around in fancy RED footwear for a day, without Divine Purpose, will try to arise. You must partner the Shoes with the"Search for Him".
Finally, you must journal your findings before you go to sleep. That's how it works!
Trust me. You won't be disappointed,
And I will delight in your company!
Gail
