Not long ago, the Lord gave me a dream in which someone was showing me a type of fruit that was awful in texture and dirty with mud. It looked unappetizing and I was quick to deem it inedible. However, after the fruit was cleaned and the skin was peeled off, it appeared to be a kind of nutritious nut I like, only in greater size and portion than the normal ones. It surprised me that what I had initially detested and perceived as useless turned out to be something precious to me.
Then, a few weeks later, while I was looking for a pair of shoes that had been misplaced, the Lord spoke. He said, “My people have misplaced their 'shoes'. They need to put on the right 'shoes' that fit them and enable them to run to their destiny comfortably.”
As I was studying the Bible, trying to relate the ‘fruit’ to the ‘shoes’, the Lord led me to the story of Moses and Joshua.
Exodus 3:5 (NKJV)
Then He said (to Moses), “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”
Joshua 5:15 (NKJV)
Then the Commander of the LORD's army said to Joshua, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so.
Why did God ask Moses and Joshua to take off their shoes/sandals? Was it because their shoes were dirty? Or, was it supposed to be an act of humbling before the Lord? Most people would quote these two reasons and you cannot deny that they are good answers. But, there is another reason the Lord wanted to show us.
When God asked Moses to take off his sandals at the burning bush, He was about to tell Moses to lead His people out of Egypt. But Moses was not ready. Moses had been shepherding sheep for his father-in-law for almost 40 years. From a royal prince of Egypt, he was reduced to a nobody in the desert. His mind was trapped in smallness, and with a wrong image of himself, not being the person God wants him to be.
As for Joshua, he was about to conquer Jericho when he was told to take off his sandal. He had seen how his people failed to obey God and died during the past 40 years in the wilderness. Also, he had always been a follower and disciple to Moses, but now, he had to be the leader. And it was the first and biggest battle that he had to fight without Moses being there to stand in the gap spiritually.
You see, the Hebrew word for shoe or sandal is [Na‘al]. It is from the root word [Nâ ‘al] which means ‘to fasten up, enclose or lock’. It speaks of the perception and mindset that you have allowed to be fastened, enclosed, or locked up in your mind. If it is the correct perception that you have, it will lead you to success and prosperity. But if it is the wrong perception, you need to remove the wrong ‘shoes’/mindset.
Romans 8:7-8 (NKJV)
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Any mindset that is against God’s perspective is carnal and worldly to Him. The word ‘please’ here in Greek is [arěskō] which means ‘to be agreeable’. If we see, perceive and do things according to the worldly and fleshly ways, we will not be able to agree with the ways of the Lord.
Romans 12:2 (NKJV)
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
The above verse says that you need to allow your mind to be renewed and transformed by His Word and Spirit (see also Colossians 2:6-8 and 1 Corinthians 2:9-10). The word ‘prove’ here is [dǒkimazō] in Greek, which means ‘discern, approve, allow’. Only a renewed mind is able to discern, approve, and allow the will of God. In other words, it is only when your mind is renewed according to His Word and Spirit will you acknowledge and co-operate with God to allow His will to be done, in and through your life.
Luke 15:22 (NKJV) - the prodigal son
“But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.”
Allow your Abba Father in heaven to put on the precise ‘shoes’/perspective for you. Allow Him to restore you into the precise purpose and calling as to why you are born on this earth. Allow Him to place you at the precise position - both in the Body of Christ and in the ‘marketplace’ - wherever it may be in this time and season.
The Lord is looking for people who are willing to take His thoughts and perspectives seriously, to be ‘up close and personal’ with Him, to seek only His will and instructions, and to act upon His words. Are you willing?