Walk with the Lord

Tie your sneaks up tight- we’re in for a bit of a long walk today. (Pun intended. Ba-dum-bum!!)

My word of the year is PURPOSE (I may have mentioned this once or twice before) and I have chosen companion words to go with it for every month of the year. This month my companion word (that I chose back in January) is ‘walk’. So ‘Walk with Purpose’ is the theme of July. How appropriate, since I’ve been in a medical boot for about a month due to a toe injury. Oh the ways God works, haha.

Walking is an interesting topic. I had several thoughts that came to mind as I mulled over the scriptures, and meditated on exactly what that word means.

Walking isn’t something we have to think about once we learn to do it. It becomes ‘second nature’ to us. We don’t (most of us anyway) have to tell our legs to move. Isn’t that a blessing? How tiresome would that become! Even if we internalized it, and just said it in our minds, that would be a LOT of extra thinking during the day. And I, for one, need all my brain power to focus on other things.

Yes, walking becomes second nature, but we DO initially have to learn how to do it. I don’t know anyone yet who walked their way out of the womb! Parents/guardians/siblings all pitch in and teach babies to walk. They hold babies by the hand, stay close behind them to make sure they don’t fall, and help them back up if they do.

It’s just like when we become a new Christian, we have to learn how to walk in the paths of the Lord. Friends, pastors, mature folks in Christ, and our church family, all pitch in to teach us how to walk, and help us up when we fall.

In both instances, though, we have to be willing to be taught. We can’t flap our hands at people like babies do, and refuse help. And we can’t just be content with just scooting around on our fannies, or crawling/rolling from one place to the next, either.

[Sorry, I was just imagining a bunch of grown-ups scooting on their fannies in the grocery store. Ha!]

–Psalm 25:4,5 (4) Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. (5) Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.-Psalm 86:11 Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.

–Psalm 119:33 Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end.

–Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

And even though walking becomes second nature to us, our feet are never in charge. They can’t lead us in a direction we’re not already facing. I haven’t yet truly had a destination in mind, and had my feet go in the opposite direction of my head. They work together. My brain tells my feet where to go, and they go. They don’t have a mind of their own, contrary to what we may want to believe.

Spiritually, we don’t just ‘end up’ somewhere; positive or negative. Your mind points your feet in the direction they will go. We have to be aware of where we’re heading and walk with purpose. If we want to follow the Lord’s path, we must determine we will do so.

–Psalm 116:9 I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
–Psalm 86:11 …I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.
–Psalm 101:2 I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.

These verses all start with “I will”. There is a purpose, a determination to follow the ways of the Lord. There will be effort exerted, and choices made, to walk in the path of the Lord. You don’t just ‘end up’ close to God. You have to determine or PURPOSE to walk that way!

It goes the other way as well. If we are tempted to stray, we need to recognize that, and point our feet back onto the path, so we don’t end up somewhere we really don’t want to be. You don’t just ‘end up’ away from God. You choose it, perhaps an inch at a time, and perhaps in the midst of deceiving yourself. But it doesn’t ‘just happen’ to you.

– Proverbs 1:10-16 tell us to stay away from those who plan hurt for others, who want us to walk in evil. We are to not walk in the way with them. We are to avoid them. Point our feet in another direction.

– Proverbs 2:11-19 tell us to beware of those who have left the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness, who forgot the guide of their youth, and the covenant of their God. We need to walk with people who are on the paths of righteousness, who desire to walk closer to the Lord.

– Jeremiah 6:16 The Lord Himself spoke to the people and told them to stand in His ways, to seek the good ways so they could have rest to their souls, and the people said: WE WILL NOT WALK THEREIN. Oh, my.

– Psalm 78:10 says that the people refused to walk in the law of God, didn’t keep His covenant, and as a result, forgot the wonders He had shown them!!

This is the danger of walking off the path. We forget who God is. We forget the things He has done, and we are much more easily convinced that He is wrong. Or mean. Or even non-existent.

– Proverbs 3:19-23 (19) The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. (20) By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew. (21) My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: (22) So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck. (23) Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.

If you want to ensure you walk in safety, keep wisdom and discretion. Work at it. Make them the stepping stones for any journey you take. Only then will you walk in safety and not stumble.

Even though being able to walk is a blessing we often take for granted, it can feel like a burden when you’re used to riding or driving. We had our truck break down plenty of times in Zambia, and ended up walking to our destination. Sometimes starting off from home, and sometimes after we had driven part of the way there. And sometimes it didn’t feel like a blessing. (Okay, more than sometimes. It gets hot in Zambia!)

This happens spiritually as well. For example: when you’re a new Christian, there is a sea of believers who are excited for you, cheer you on, support you, pray for you, answer all your questions. Your spirit itself is on a high. You feel so different than you’ve ever felt before, the love of God is almost overwhelingly awesome, and it’s like you’re riding a wave emotionally and spiritually.

So when your feet hit the ground for the first time (you’re faced with old sin, you experience persecution, you have to figure out something spiritual for yourself, etc.) walking can feel like a burden, or a punishment.
But Isaiah 40:31 tells us that if we wait on the Lord we can even walk and not faint because He will renew our strength. Sticking close to the Savior helps every step of the way.

Walking can also be made more difficult depending on our circumstances. Sometimes we walk while injured, or disabled. Sometimes we start out walking on a nice day, and end up walking in the rain, or heat, or going unexpectedly uphill, or we get stuck walking in the dark…

All of these can obscure the path, and make walking harder. And they can make us feel alone. No one person will experience every single thing we are facing at the same time, or in the same way, that we do. But we need to remember that the Lord is always with us.

– Psalm 138:7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.

– Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
– Rod in this verse means a stick for fighting
– Staff in this verse means support or sustenance.

The Lord is always with us, regardless of how we feel. Even when our circumstances look bleak, the Lord will revive us, protect us, support us along the way. Even when the way becomes unexpectedly tough. Even in the midst of trouble. Even in the valley of the shadow of death. Praise God for His faithful goodness and kindness, and wonderful works to the children of men!

Ready to get your walking shoes on? I’m so thankful I have a faithful walking buddy in Jesus!!