IF THE SHOE FITS: A Call to Reflect, Reset, and Realign

Here we are now… halfway through January. Over the past few weeks, many of us have reflected on our lives, examining our shortcomings and taking an honest assessment of the ways we have overcome challenges. I’ve heard it said, “Yesterday’s sorrows can be today’s successes if the hand of the Lord is upon us.” So true!

A new year always invites reflection. It creates space for recalibration, a pause where we ask not only what lies ahead, but who we are, and who we are becoming. Seasons change, calendars turn, routines reset but the posture of our hearts before the Lord must continually be examined and realigned.

Growing up, many of us heard the phrase, “If the shoe fits…” It was a simple but pointed way of saying, Take a look at yourself. Take ownership. Don’t deflect. Don’t deny.

That familiar phrase echoes one of Scripture’s very sobering moments.

When the prophet Nathan confronted King David, he did not begin with accusation. Instead, he told a story that stirred David’s righteous anger. David was quick to discern injustice when he thought it applied to someone else. Then Nathan looked him squarely in the eyes and declared, “You are the man.”

In other words, “If the shoe fits.”

That moment was not about public exposure; it was about personal awakening. David stood at a crossroads. He could have deflected, justified, blamed, or projected on someone else. Instead, he humbled himself, repented, and allowed truth to recalibrate his heart. His response determined the trajectory of his future.

That moment reveals something timeless: we often see truth most clearly when we think it applies to others and resist it most when it confronts us personally.

THE LENS WE USE MATTERS:

How we see determines how we respond. Scripture is not merely a mirror for culture, a spotlight for society, or a resource for sermons, it is first a mirror for our own soul.

Yet, we can easily fall into what might be called filter trapping, and seeing only what confirms our assumptions, protects our comfort, or supports our arguments, while filtering out what confronts us personally.

Even well meaning leaders and sincere believers can approach God’s Word asking, “What can I say to others?” before ever asking, “Lord, what are You saying to me?”

True spiritual formation begins when we stop using Scripture as a spotlight on others and allow it to become a searchlight on our own hearts.

James reminds us that the Word reveals who we truly are…not so we can walk away unchanged, but as an opportunity to respond with humility and obedience. Scripture was never meant to be a tool for comparison or projection. It was meant to shape us, correct us, and align us (transform us into His image and align us with His will). We can tend to project on others what we ourselves are actually demonstrating or reflecting.

SCRIPTURE BEFORE SERMONS:

Meditation on God’s Word is not an exercise in extracting content, but it is an invitation to encounter the living God who speaks, convicts, heals, transforms and restores.

Before the message is preached, it must be lived.

Before correction is offered, repentance must be embraced.

Before vision is cast, hearts must be examined.

The Holy Spirit does His deepest work not when we are preparing to speak, but when we are willing to listen.

As we enter a new year, the invitation is clear:

Before we preach it. Before we teach it. Before we post it. Let it read us.

A NEW SEASON BEGINS WITH US:

The question for this season is not merely, What is God doing? but Where does this Word fit in my life right now?

• Where do I need adjustment?
• Where have I resisted correction?
• Where has familiarity replaced obedience?
• Where is God inviting deeper alignment with His purposes?

This is not condemnation…it is true grace. God’s loving confrontation is always an invitation to transformation.

LET THE SHOE FIT:

This season calls us to humility over defensiveness, reflection over reaction, and obedience over appearance. When the Word of God is allowed to first shape us, it gains authority through us.

So as we open the Scriptures this year, resist the urge to immediately think of someone else who needs to hear it. Pause. Pray. Listen.

And if the shoe fits—don’t excuse or explain it away. Let it change us. That is where renewal begins.