Have you ever owned a pair of rubber flip flops? The basic ones you can find for a few dollars at clothing stores or even a local grocery store.
It’s probably not the first image that comes to mind when you think about faith or revelations from God, but that’s exactly why this symbol is so significant!
Read on to explore the incredible ways God can reveal Himself through something as simple as flip flops.
Sole Purpose
Years ago, I owned a pair of flip flops that were… seeing the end of their journey. The thin rubber straps kept popping out of the worn down soles, tripping me every time I opted to wear them against my better judgment.
They eventually became shoes to quickly throw on for getting the mail or taking out the trash, but other than that, they rarely left the garage. When they did see the light of day, I always had to stop what I was doing to fix the straps when they inevitably broke.
For whatever reason, I never put the time or energy toward getting new ones, even though they were essentially useless, and I would have been better off just going barefoot.
Isn’t that how we sometimes treat our faith?
We know we should have SOME foundation beneath our feet before venturing out into the world. And a little faith is better than none at all, right?
Yes and no.
Faith in Action
The Bible tells us if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we can move mountains (Matthew 17:20). So yes, even the smallest faith holds incredible power and should be celebrated.
However, God also calls us to live for more than bare minimum. Any follower who’s heart is attuned to His, God promises not just what is good, but He wants to give us the absolute BEST (Jeremiah 29:11). He also warns against settling in lukewarm faith:
“Faith by itself, if not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James 2:17)
We can’t just stand on a thin layer of faith to look pretty and hope that it’s enough. We have to take steps forward, giving it movement and weight through our actions. And we can only do that with sure and adequate footing.
Fading Foundations
Maybe you were raised in church or your family is religious, but you never really got deep into the whole spirituality thing yourself. Or maybe you used to be on fire for God, but difficult circumstances stamped it out over the years, and you’re not really sure if there’s much left to rekindle.
If we aren’t intentional about the “footwear” we travel in through life, it can end up being an inconvenience or liability, rather than an asset and source of inspiration.
We can find ourselves having to stop constantly and adjust what we thought would work out okay, simply because it did in another season.
We may not devote enough time to fix underlying issues, or we buy into the lie that we don’t deserve an upgrade to something stronger with better support.
We know enough to protect ourselves with something, but when the path gets rocky or hinders our supposed beliefs, we struggle to fill in the gaps on our own.
We won’t wear it certain places because it’s inconvenient or people might look at us funny. So we’d rather opt for ease, and only practice faith within our comfort zones.
We end up distracted from the good things that lie ahead of us, because the foundation beneath us is wearing too thin to keep up.
Regardless of where you find yourself, we all encounter seasons where there’s only a thin imprint of faith left—one that’s enough to separate you slightly from the world, but doesn’t have enough support to take you very far.
Soul Purpose
When our relationship with God becomes worn down, we may not put in the time or effort to strengthen it. Even if we know it could be better, or we see others running laps of faith around us in brand new spiritual kicks.
It serves its purpose for the time being, so it’s easy to put off or say we’ll do it tomorrow, next weekend, or maybe in the new year.
Addressing anything head on will always require more of us, but don’t be discouraged to settle in a place of temporary solutions and quick fixes.
Growing complacent in faith or discounting what God planted inside of you might be more convenient in the present, but longterm it could actually be the very thing preventing you from where He has planned—His best.
When we improve our sole foundation of faith, it will naturally align us on our soul path. The road ahead opens up to lead us into a deeper relationship with God, and equips us to live more boldly so that others might know Him too.
A Rubber Reminder
Flip flops may not be a typical symbol when it comes to faith, but I’ve often found that the most memorable connections come from the overlooked and mundane aspects of life.
So next time you wear a pair of flip flops—whether you’ve had them for a day or a decade—let it be a small reminder of how we all need a firm foundation in God to walk purposefully through this thing called life.
And if God can reveal His glory through something as unexpected as flip flops, just imagine how much more He can accomplish through you. ♡
≫ What type of shoe represents your spiritual walk in this season? Comment below!
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