“Put your feet on the necks of these kings.” Joshua 10:24 NIV
“Spiritual integrity requires personal clarity.”
My thoughts and comments today are, “put your foot down.”
There are many idioms of speech taken for granted and used everyday. An idiom is defined as “a group of words whose meaning cannot be predicted by their normal usage.” My title today is one of those idioms of speech: “to put your foot down.” One has to be “fast on your feet” to keep up with what’s going on around you. You have to “stand on your own two feet” rather than always depending on others to do things for you. You may be advised to “put your feet up” when requiring rest. You “put your best foot forward” when an opportunity requires a good first impression. A person “gets off on the wrong foot” when disappointing another’s expectation. To have “your feet planted firmly on the ground” signifies you are solid and reliable. A person who “has cold feet” has doubts and reservations that have changed their mind. And you certainly do not want to be described as having “one foot in the grave.”
What’s all that about? Growing up, I heard a phrase frequently used to describe a person who would “put their foot down.” Trust me; my Dad, Mom, and Grandma knew how to do that well. Doing so is properly defined as “making an assertion strongly.” There are situations in which you must learn to “put your foot down.” In business relationships, an employer or person in authority has to know when and how to put their foot down for the sake of their business. There will be times when a marriage or family needs someone to put their foot down, in a right way of doing so, for the safety of a child or teen, or for the sake of their relationship. In friendships, occasions arise when you can’t go along with what’s happening – such as “just say no to drugs or sex” or “friends don’t let friends drive drunk.” You have to put your foot down!
Consider with me a spiritual application of the practice of “putting your foot down.” An interesting narrative is told of an incident during Joshua and Israel’s conquest of Canaan. Read Joshua 10:1-16 NLT. Five kings of the Amorites had enjoined battle with Israel. When Joshua surprised their armies, the five kings hid in a cave, hoping to escape the same fate as their fleeing armies. After the battle, Joshua instructed, “’Bring those five kings to me’ . . and said to the army commanders . . ‘Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings.’” See Joshua 10:22-27 NIV. With a foot on their necks, they were powerless to resist. The kings knew instinctively that their fate was certain and sealed; they were buried in the same cave in which they tried to hide. No mercy was shown; no exception made.
In your spiritual life and growth, recognize situations when you have to be assertive about non-negotiables. Spiritual integrity requires personal clarity. People or things will press you to compromise your convictions. Temptations will entice you to make unwise exceptions. Disagreements will feel personal. Those and other feelings – jealousies, unforgiveness, discouragement, doubts, bitterness, and fears – are things you cannot successfully indulge. What “kings” threaten your victory in Christ? Do not spare them; overcome them! Luke 10:19 NLT. Put your foot down with finality where you need to make “a spiritual assertion strongly.” God’s power is in your act of doing so. Read Joshua 10:25-27 NLT/Psalm 91:11-13 NIV/Romans 16:20 NIV.
My prayer for you today is: be clear about spiritual decisions and directions for your life.