It happened on a wonderful trip with my girlfriends to the red rock mountains of Sedona. Gathered in a circle at Cathedral Rock, we prayed hand in hand when a skin penetrating predator struck my heel. I shook my foot a bit to take the sting away and kept praying. The next morning I sat by the pool with my heel painfully throbbing like Fred Flintstone at the end of a hard day at work.
Of course, that’s when Genesis 3:15 ran through my thoughts. The verse recalls the moment when God told Satan that Jesus was coming to take away all his power. “He will crush your head and you will bruise his heel.” This distracting heel injury reminded me that when we belong to Jesus, the best the devil has is a strike at your heel — the lowest points of your life.
What are your low points? Where is the most vulnerable place for the devil to attack you? Your self-esteem? Your desire for companionship? Your finances? Sitting by the pool I stared at what looked like a rattler bite on my heel and I realized one huge thing. When satan strikes us on the heel, we allow the poisonous pain to stream through our bodies into our hearts and minds. A chronic illness, an untimely death, a divorce, unpaid bills, and other life strikes often lead to broken hearts and doubting minds.
Simply put, you cannot let a heel strike affect your heart and head. Don’t let the momentary troubles in your life make you lose heart or affect your relationship with the “Head” of your life. Life can be painful, just like that throbbing heel of mine. But the faith in our hearts and knowledge of Christ cannot be affected by the devil’s heel strikes unless we let it. The Jesus in you can crush the devil’s head. You’re the winner in the end, bruised heels and all. The pain in your heel will eventually feel better. Don’t allow momentary life circumstances to poison your heart and mind and lead you into eternal pain.
When I felt the bite on my heel I did not release my sisters’ hands or stop praying. I did not take my focus from our spiritual reason for climbing that mountain in the absurd Arizona heat. I’m sure it sounds triple Christian crazy but my thought was that if God allowed me to suffer a deadly bite while praying on the mountain, then it must be time for me to go. And if so, I was going out in prayer.
So regardless of the pain, don’t be distracted. Keep moving forward toward your purpose, your calling, your destiny. Keep steppin’ bruised heels and all.