Walking with God. It sounds so easy. It brings up thoughts of walking with Jesus on a beautiful wooded trail with lush trees lining the path with every species of bird ever created singing the most beautiful songs you’ve ever heard. Or, perhaps, walking through a meadow of vividly colored wild flowers as Jesus explains every minute detail of each flower he created. Maybe one day my reflections will become a reality or maybe they are just a figment of the imagination that He created in me to give some sense of what heaven might be like. My guess is heaven will far exceed any beauty or peaceful existence that can be conjured up my finite mind.
The reality is, simply walking with God isn’t simple at all. And I can dare say it will never happen fully in this life. But it is something beautiful and wonderful to strive for while I’m walking on the path towards eternity; the very short path that is my dash. My dash comes between August 1952 and the day when I take my final step off my dash into eternity.
I write this as I’m nearing my 7th decade of my life. I write in first person because it’s a journal of my thoughts, but I pray it will speak to something deep in the heart of whoever may stumble across this journal either before or after I’m no longer on earth.
I’ve been increasingly contemplating that one day soon I will have to face God which overwhelms my emotions in so many ways. I’ve not always lived a life worthy of my Creator. But on December 19, 1993, God opened my heart to want to have a relationship with Him! Not only my heart, but the heart of my husband who sat next to me as the pastor presented an altar call to the congregation to consider asking Jesus to be their Savior and Lord. That’s night we became “born again” believers and our lives changed immediately. The light bulb turned on and we understood exactly who Jesus was and still is as well as what being a true Christian is about.
Now on to the journey of “simply” walking with God.
“Enoch walked with God: and then he was not; for God took him. (Genesis 5:24)
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)
There is so much packed into these verses. It seems like such a simple way to live. Walking with God daily seems like such a peaceful existence. But when I consider what that entails I realize it’s far from simple. It reminds me of the classic book, Practicing the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence, the monk who dedicated his life to doing everything in his life to the glory of God. He conversed daily with God as he worked on mindless tasks like scrubbing floors or cooking meals for the other monks. He simply invited God into everything he did.
However, even that isn’t simple. As I go about daily tasks; wake up; get up; make coffee; feed my cat; clean his litter box; and get ready to be presentable enough to go into the outside world, I confess that God isn’t always on my mind. It would take a conscious effort to remember to talk to God as I go through these daily rituals yet Brother Lawrence was able to empty his mind of all things and converse with God as he worked.
This seems impossible to me as I live with a mind that is constantly overwhelmed with thoughts that come in and out like those ducks at a county fair. As I shoot one down, the rest keep popping up. It is sometimes a great impediment to simply walking with God when one has a brain that can’t seem to rest; a brain that is internally as noisy as a TV with all the channels playing at the same time. A brain that doesn’t complete the first thought before another thought takes over. Good thoughts. Bad thoughts. Dumb thoughts. Impressive thoughts. Worthless thoughts. Productive thoughts. Analytical thoughts. Creative thoughts. Obsessive thoughts. Fleeting thoughts. Reflective thoughts.
But today, I was able to take hold of one of those reflective thoughts and continued to consider what it means to simply walk with God and came up with these possibilities.
Walking with God means…
- Setting aside time to read and study Scripture.
- Praying daily and connecting with God
- Memorizing Scripture to always renew your mind with God’s Word.
- Conversing with Him always moment by moment by remembering to invite Him into all I do during my waking hours.
- Simply being obedient to what God reveals in His Word.
- Loving Him with all my heart and soul and loving others as I love myself.
- Surrendering my desires and my will to God’s will.
- Seeking always to know His will through Scripture.
- Never allowing my faith in my sovereign God waiver.
- Living a humble, quiet life and refraining from the need to impress people.
- Examining my heart to my motives in serving or leading. Are my motives always pure?
- Doing all things to the glory of God.
- Simply doing what God puts on my heart to do.
- Being thankful always.
- Living a life of praise to an awesome God.
- Being:
- Humble
- Quiet
- Submissive
- Gentle
- Kind
- Loving
- Joyful
- Peaceful
- Patient
- Self-controlled
- Faithful
All this can be broken down into one sentence…
My purpose in life is to live my life to glorify God and to share the Gospel with others so they can do the same thing.
This is quite a journey isn’t it? And it’s not a simple one. But having lived 41 years without God in my life, I see the amazing difference it makes in your life when you choose to walk with Him. So, I’ll continue to walk with God on my dash until it runs out; when I take my first step into eternity where I will begin my new Journey with Jesus; one that will have no end…ever! Heaven will be far more beautiful than we can ever imagine…no more pain; no more suffering; no more tears.
Amazing Grace Revealed 