How the Ruby Red Slippers Represent God’s Peace by LEONA CHOY for Charisma News
“Never let those ruby slippers off your feet for a moment, or you will be at the mercy of the wicked witch of the west!”
Those are memorable words from The Wizard of Oz. The plot revolved around getting those magic red shoes off Dorothy’s feet. But the Wicked Witch was unable to take her shoes. She got zapped when she tried. The only way they could come off her feet was if Dorothy gave them up herself.
We can find many hidden analogies in this story. Let’s try a little scriptural spin: Spiritually, the devil is interested in our feet—specifically our footwear.
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God provided armor and protective equipment for our life battles, but we must put on each piece ourselves. God isn’t going to dress us; we’re grown-ups now. The wardrobe includes shoes. They aren’t red slippers, but they have spiritual powers nevertheless. “Having your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace” (Eph. 6:15) is an echo from Isaiah 52:7: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings good news of happiness, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!'”
Our shoes of peace guard our hearts, our emotions. Even if all the rest of our armor is in place but we forgot our peace-shoes, fear can overtake us, and we are apt to turn and run in retreat. There isn’t any armor for our backs. We are completely vulnerable to the enemy of our souls.
Peace is the valuable spiritual commodity that Jesus gave us after His Resurrection as His final gift before ascending to the Father. And one size fits all. In John 14:27, Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” Whenever our Lord appeared to His disciples after the Resurrection, His greeting was “Peace!”
The only way we can lose our peace is if we allow the enemy to take it from us or if we give it away ourselves. Scripture tells us, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7b). We can call upon Jesus to zap the enemy when he approaches to steal our peace.
The devil wants us barefoot without our shoes of peace. He would be happy if we got splinters or stepped on glass—even if we stubbed our toes. He has limited powers, but he can cause a heap of turbulence in his efforts to steal our peace-shoes. He can whip up sudden storms in our lives like came upon us so quickly in 2020 to turn our lives upside down. But “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
