Being Where Your Feet Are

     Because I was blessed to play sports during my early days, I was surrounded by coaches who wanted to make me better at the games I played. There were drills to develop skills, conditioning to build stamina, and countless moments of running through the plays so that you could not possibly get it wrong. (And yes, you guessed it, I still got it wrong sometimes!)

     Due to the fact that I was in my youth, sometimes my mind would start to drift away from the practice I was attending. I would be thinking about a myriad of other things (fishing, girls, being with friends, girls….), and every time my coaches could sense it. They were very consistent in calling on me to focus on the practice (with very clear messaging!!). I remember very clearly how one of them stated it: “You need to be where your feet are!” Message received! I understood that he meant for my full focus to be where I was at the moment, focusing on what is happening and not on what may or may not happen at some other time and/or in some other place.

     Jesus had to deal with this with His disciples. There was one time where one of those young men following Jesus had a question about another member of the group of 12. He wanted some information that really did not pertain to him. It was Peter, and He had just had His relationship with Jesus restored after a colossal failure in his own witness for Jesus. In John 21, Peter turns the attention to John and asks Jesus a question. Then, in John 21:22, Jesus says, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow Me!”  What Jesus was clearly saying to Peter was what my coaches were saying to me—be where your feet are! Be in the moment, and be in your own moment instead of someone else’s.

     It is not always easy to stay in the moment. It is easy to look at other people’s moments and compare or even be jealous. Then, our focus is all out of whack, and we forget to look at where we are and be where our feet are. I want to encourage you, when we gather for worship, be where your feet are. Be in the moment! Don’t look around at others, don’t compare, don’t gather information that has nothing to do with you and then spread it around. (Umm….that is gossip!) Just be where your feet are and worship the One who blesses us with amazing moments. God is so good! I look forward to seeing you in worship and truly worshiping God together at GSBC!!