On my very early morning flight, I was listening to the worship song “Give Me You” by Shana Wilson, which I do not recommend you do if you are Middle Seat because you will start crying and the Aisle Seat and Window Seat will look at you crazy and get a little scared on the plane.
But as I listened I thought of the story of Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-15). I remembered God told him to take his shoes off because the place he was standing in was holy ground. And I wondered why would Moses have to take his shoes off? And it occurred to me that his shoes were dirty and dusty from touching his desert environment so he had to take them off to be in the pure, unsoiled presence of God.
Those shoes represented everything that was keeping Moses away from God. Those shoes represented the baggage he had picked up along the way. Those shoes represented how life had touched him and stained him. Those shoes represented weights he needed to throw off to get close to God (Hebrews 12:1). Those shoes represented all he had to let go off to get to God.
And, were it not for my fear of flying which causes me to never leave my seat on a plane, and also for the fact that I was in a small, public space, I would have taken off running at that thought.
My God. Those shoes.
God then challenged me with this thought: Take it off, Sis.
Take off the fear.
Take off the insecurities.
Take off the past you cling so closely to.
Take off the bitterness and the hurt.
Take off the anger.
Take off the unforgiveness.
Come to me and take it off.
Well then.
l knew I was taking a flight but I didn’t know I was taking it to another level with God.
Lourdes Anita