“Your feet are freezing!” This cry often escapes my lips as my wife offers her toes for a warming rub. Even on the warmest days she can get cold feet.
I sometimes get cold feet too. One Christmas I was due to accompany a choir on the piano in a Carol Service. On the day, I woke up with a sore head and blocked nose. I backed out of the event, leaving the choir to find a replacement pianist. However, as I sat alone in my flat, I realised that it wasn’t the head cold that prevented me playing; I had got cold feet. Cold feet are often the cause of missed opportunities, leading to disappointment and resentment. When God brought the Isaralites out of Egypt, Moses parted the Red Sea and led them to the borders of Canaan. After spying out the Promised Land, Joshua and Caleb told the Israelites that with God’s help they could conquer the inhabitants and claim their inheritance. Instead the people were swayed by tall tales of marauding giants. They got cold feet and died in the desert.
But our feet should never be cold if we are filled with the Holy Spirit. Paul writes that “the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7 NIVUK.
So next time you start to feel your feet turning cold, hold them in the fire of the Holy Spirit, and step out in faith to the future God has planned for you.
