Concerning snakes and shoes

Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. Luke 10:19

You will tread upon the lion and cobra, the young lion and the serpent you will trample down. Psalm 91:13

…and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace… Ephesians 6:15

Concerning shoes:

They are important. They protect the soles of your feet from the varied and sometimes treacherous surfaces upon which you walk; they provide balance and support for the rest of your body, enabling you to continue for the long haul in an upright position.

God has given you shoes for your feet as part of your protective armor. These shoes also protect your soul from the varied and sometimes treacherous terrains upon which you step. The shoes God gives you provides support and balance for your life, as well, so that you can continue to run your race for the long haul.

God calls these shoes the preparation of the gospel of peace. Shod feet are safe feet; the person who wears the right footwear enjoys support and balance for life. Do you want safe passage and a well-balanced, upright life for the rest of your days? Then wear the shoes God has provided—the preparation of the gospel of peace. If you abandon the preparation of the gospel of peace, you will be vulnerable as you hike through the various environments you encounter. If you decide that being prepared with the gospel is not very valuable, you will quickly become unbalanced and find that an upright posture becomes increasingly difficult for you to maintain.

Concerning snakes and shoes:

When I was a little girl, my mom took my sister and me shoe shopping. Easter was around the corner, but we weren’t looking for Easter shoes. We weren’t looking for sandals; we weren’t looking for Keds; we weren’t even looking for saddle shoes. We were shopping for what my folks called boondockers—leather hiking boots that came up over the ankles.

My parents had just purchased some land in the Ozarks and it was “snaky”. Dad and my brother already owned boots, but we girls were bootless and needed to shop.

I remember the consternation of the salesman as he measured our feet for the boondockers. He was beside himself, trying to persuade us that what we really wanted were cute little patent leather shoes for Easter.

“No,” my mom insisted. “My girls need boondockers.” It would have been thoughtful if she had explained our need for snake protection to the “Mr. Whipple” look-alike serving us, but I think Mom rather enjoyed shocking him. It was 1960; little girls didn’t wear such footwear.

After much hemming and hawing on the part of our flustered salesman, we were outfitted with our boots; and as we left the shoe store, in my five-year-old mind I was imagining snakes snapping at the thick leather, hoping they would respect the boundary at the top of my boot and politely limit their strikes to below the line.

I was faithful to lace up my boondockers every time I wandered out into snake country. Everyone in the family was. One day the five of us went out to pick blackberries, growing wild all over the place. Each of us was armed with a cleaned out, empty paint bucket in which to stash the loot we picked. (I ate more than I put in the bucket.)

We found a huge patch by the side of a dirt road running down to the river. I was by Mom’s side as we spread out, picking and plunking away, when she squealed as she sucked in a lung-full of air, leaping straight up.

“I just stepped on a cat’s tail!” she gasped. “Jinks didn’t follow us out here, did he?!” She was referring to our big black and brown striped feline family member who always accompanied us to the country.

My dad started poking in the berry brambles, “Here, Jinks! Kitty, kitty, kitty!” And then he jumped back. “Freda, you just stepped on a copperhead!”

Sure enough, hidden under the blackberry brambles was a large copperhead with a squashed head. Dad poked it with a stick to make sure it was dead, and it was. Freshly dead. Killed. By Mom—or rather, by her lethal, boondockered foot.

Awed, we all huddled around the carcass for a closer look. There it was, beautiful copper body with telltale dark brown hourglass-like markings up and down its spine—with a squashed head.

I am often reminded of this snapshot from my childhood. I was witness to a literal treading-upon of a serpent. Mom was outfitted in the proper footwear, and although unaware of the viper’s presence, she hit the bulls-eye. With one step she stopped the serpent, dead in its track.

We have authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means harm us. We just need to keep our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, and we will do damage to the enemy simply by obeying God.

So often we fear the “what if’s” of life and are incapacitated by “what if I miss God?“. Do you belong to Christ? Have you prayed? Are you in the Word? Do you walk in love? Then step out without fear. Your Father will lead you, and if you miss it, He’ll lead you out of that place and over to the right place. It’s far simpler than we believers of the 21st century have made it.

And I believe concerning you—an everyday Christian—that a trail of viper carcasses litters the path behind you. You have been outfitted to tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and as you’ve obeyed God in your life—even in the everyday tasks—I can’t help but believe that you have destroyed demonic schemes without realizing it.

Next time Satan attempts to incapacitate you with “what if’s”—seeking to intimidate you to back off of obedience to God—just remember my mom’s boondockered feet and the squashed copperhead. Step out, do what you believe God wants you to do, and watch Him perform great things for you and through you.

But don’t forget your boots. It’s snaky out there!

Dorothy

And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church…Ephesians 1:22

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. Romans 16:20