Devotionals

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My Dad was not a big sports fan. I do not remember ever seeing him kicked back in front of the television watching ball games. As I recall, he did listen to baseball games on the radio to pass the time during long second shift hours as a security guard for General Electric. He shared two interests with his best friend Clint.

They watched boxing matches on TV and enjoyed pitching horseshoes. I could not then or now comprehend the desire of fighters to allow opponents to pound them, or the rational of pummeling others. My fascination was in a local boxing celebrity Carmen Basilio. I had the thrill of seeing a champion in person when he ran errands in the village of Chittenango!

Neither Dad nor Clint was a horseshoe champion. They simply chatted, aimed, tossed, and counted ringers as horseshoes hit their mark. They spent recreation time well, as both men could cast aside cares of providing for large families. Craftsmen originally designed the shoes to shod horses but along the way, someone adapted them to game gizmos.

God is prepared to shod the feet of those prepared for spiritual battle. “Stand therefore, having your loins girt with the truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness: And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace (Ephesians 6:14-15 KJV).” Horseshoes protect the feet of the lankly animals from injury. The Blacksmith hammers them in place out of love, not punishment.

My loving Father knows the dangers in my path and will firmly shod my feet with the gospel (good news) of peace. He hammers them in place with nails that held Jesus on the cross. I only walk in peace when I walk with Jesus, the Prince of Peace. I normally view peace as the absence of conflict but in reality, I sense it spiritually as God’s grace in the throes of conflict. We are shod soldiers!

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