The Shoes of Readiness

Ephesians 6:15

…and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of truth.

NIV

Every church-going Christian has probably heard this verse many times. The sandals, which a Christian should wear as part of the full armor of God, are described as readiness.

 
 

Now, readiness involves two things in the context of this verse. First it involves preparation and then it also involves willingness. They are both important and we can think of them as the sole and the straps of these sandals that we must all adorn.

 
 

Preparation

Preparation should be a big part a Christian's daily life. You see, you cannot succeed unless you are prepared to.

Preparation means making ready. It means considering what will be required and making the arrangements that are necessary for these requirements. How can we know what will be required while we do not know the future?

Personally, I have seen two ways that we can have a clue of what is coming:

• Past experiences
  

  We do continuous assessment tests in school to give us a feel of what the main exam will be like and in the battlefield, we watch our opponents' tactics so that we get better and better at fighting him every time we enter the battle field.
  

  You see, as a Christian, every struggle and experience should be a learning opportunity. Not only learning about ourselves but also learning about where the devil tempts us and how God tests us.
  

  Let every experience be a preparation for the next time you face something similar to that which you are facing now. Take every opportunity to remind yourself of what God expects you to be like.
  

• God
  

  God know the future and he knows what you will face tomorrow. Allow him to prepare you. Allow him to change you and submit to his Spirit by taking heed of his word.
  

  Read the word. Read the word. Read the word.
  

   
   

  We are the fortunate generations who have the word of God with us night and day. Hs Spirit surrounds us waiting to work in us , with us and through us. He cannot wait for us to say yes and see the Lord's hand.
  

 1        Blessed be the Lord my Rock,

Who trains my hands for war,

And my fingers for battle 

 
 

Let the Lord prepare you. Ask him to prepare you. Get prepared and remember that preparation is a constant, daily and hourly process. You are not prepared once and for all. Remember to take you daily dose of preparation.

How to prepare

1. Read the word. Read the word. Read the word.
   
2. Meditate on it. The word is lovely and enriching.
   
3. Practice the word. The word is instruction, follow it.
   
4. Apply the word in your situations.
   
5. Pray according to the word.
   

 
 

Willingness

Now, we Christians have got one big fault. When we are caught in a difficult situation, we fight inside ourselves for too long. There is no servant like the eager and responsive servant. Let us make a habit of responding quickly to the Lord's commands. If God says "Tithe", give today. If God says "Reach out", don't wait for tomorrow. Let us rid ourselves of reluctance and be filled with zeal for the Lord our kind master. Would you like it if God was reluctant to save you from trouble you were in? What sort of friend wants the other to respond quickly while he never does? Let us be the sort of friends to God and to others as we would like God to be to us. You must prepare for each day, each test, every journey and every temptation.

 

Preparation and Willingness

Preparation and willingness must go hand in hand for us to say that we are ready.

 
 

Proverbs 19: 2 It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way.

 

 
 

We have all learnt that preparation is the one thing you cannot afford to skip if you are facing something important. Tomorrow is an important day to the Lord. Prepare for it.