This is my search section here
Harbor of Hope
desktop

Staff Blog - Big Shoes

Big Shoes

Posted by Emma Liddle on

What is the biggest thing holding you back in your spiritual life?

There are probably a whole ton of answers to that question, but I wonder if many of them might actually fall under the umbrella of “myself.”

It’s definitely not God who’s doing it. He’s waiting for you to step it up, to take his hand, to move forward.

And it’s useless to point to other people and say they’re keeping you from growing. Either it’s just plain not true and you’re using them as a scapegoat, or you just simply need to step away from them and move toward people who will help propel you forward.

In the story of Elisha (Elijah’s prophetic protégé), we see this plainly. He’s just going through his daily grind, pushing his plow behind some oxen, when Elijah comes up and literally passes his mantle onto him, throwing his cloak onto his shoulders. Elisha could’ve said: “God, there’s no way you want me to this. I’m staying here.”

He also could’ve said: “My parents want me to stick around, so I can’t take this on.”

Or Elisha could’ve said: “I haven’t even taken a single class at prophet school! There’s no way I’m qualified!”

You can fill in the blanks, pick your excuse, but none of them apply here. Elisha had big shoes to fill, and instead of allowing himself to get in his own way, he drops everything to accept this new role God has for him. Elisha could’ve held back, stayed where he was, but instead he accepted God’s invitation.

How often, though, do we go back to the familiar plow and throw away the mantle that’s been given to us? It’s so much easier to keep our heads down and live a consistent, safe life and close our eyes to the doors that God has flung wide open to us. But imagine if Elisha had one that? One thing is for sure, we probably wouldn’t be reading his story thousands of years later!

Take some time today and ask God: “What are the big shoes you’re asking me to fill?” This is a big question, a bold question, but it’s the first step to removing those blinders that are stopping you from seeing the larger plan God has for your life.