But I have learned so much about a different use of our word 'walk'. Our 'walk' can refer to our way of living. You may have heard: "A person's walk should match his talk." This means what we say we believe should be demonstrated in how we live. In addition 'walk' can mean 'way' or 'path'. This implies the idea of a destination. A path leads somewhere. Many years ago when I was about age 14 we studied a poem in school changed my life. The poem is "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost. I want to mention only the last stanza.
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep."
I am by no means a Robert Frost fan. He and I are miles apart in our worldview. But God used this poem to give me the power to say 'no' to certain things and to stay focused on what would be His will for my life.. a life wholly given over to walk along the path prepared just for me by the One Who loved me enough to die in my place. But we are getting ahead of our story.
At age 14 I wanted to 'walk' with a sense of purpose and perseverance.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep."
I am by no means a Robert Frost fan. He and I are miles apart in our worldview. But God used this poem to give me the power to say 'no' to certain things and to stay focused on what would be His will for my life.. a life wholly given over to walk along the path prepared just for me by the One Who loved me enough to die in my place. But we are getting ahead of our story.
At age 14 I wanted to 'walk' with a sense of purpose and perseverance.
I had a sense that a life that counts must involve a degree of self denial.
I began to think of the deep questions of life:
Who am I?
Why am I here?
What should I do with my life?
Where do I look to find these answers?
Following my conversion to Christ Jesus by means of grace through faith in Christ Jesus, my 'guidebook' for living became the Bible.
The Bible gives light or understanding to our walk. Psalm 119:105 says God's Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. How so? Psalm 119:130 explains further. The unfolding of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. "Unfolding" here means like a door or entrance.
A casual reading of the Scriptures is not sufficient to find the light or understanding we need to live a life that will count in eternity.
Here are just a few references as to how one should walk, according to the Bible.
1. We are to walk according to God's commandments.
2. We are to walk as Jesus walked. How did Jesus walk? He tells us this in John's Gospel. Jesus always did the will of God, the Father. See John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38-40. Jesus expects us to live the same way!
3. We will walk in humility of mind, considering others as more important than ourselves. [see Philippians 2:3-8].
4. We will walk in love. If you love Me, you will obey My commands. John 14. Not the gushy, sentimental, romantic, sensual type of love. Rather the commands of Christ, which begin with "repent". Continue with "you must be born again". How many of Christ's commands do you know of, let alone keep? Ephesians 5:2 tells us what it looks like to 'walk in love'. A careful reading of all of Ephesians 5 will give you great understanding of what walking in love looks like.
5. We are to walk in faith.. not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7.
6. We will walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. Everyone likes the idea of power. But power is about doing what we ought, not what we want. In fact to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit means to walk in the midst of a great war. Not peace. Galatians 5:17 ESV says "For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do."
If there is no struggle in our lives to walk the walk that pleases God, then we are most to be pitied and should be careful to see whether we are indeed in the faith.
7. Romans 6:4 says that we are to walk in newness of life. The old life must be crucified with Christ.
8. We are to walk in forgiveness and reconciliation. Forgiveness is NOT saying : I apologize.
Forgiveness is a promise. Forgiveness is choosing not to hold an offense against another. Forgiveness chooses not to remember and not to bring up this issue again with the other person or anyone else including with our selves. Should our mind begin to think again of the offense we must immediately replace that thought with thankfulness to God that He has chosen to not remember our much greater sins against Him.
9. We will walk in God's ways. Many times God asked this of His chosen people. There were promises of blessings for doing this and punishment for failing to do so. What are His ways? His moral ways as made clear in His commands and shown by Who He is. This includes truth, righteousness, light, purity.
How are we NOT to walk? Psalm 1 says NOT in the counsel of the ungodly. Where do you get your guidance? We are NOT to walk in the imagination of our own hearts and after other gods [Jer. 13:10] or walk in lies. We are not to walk in darkness.
I am not yet at the point of 'boasting' about my infirmities. But I am by God's grace moving in that direction.
My goal is to be fully satisfied with God alone. My goal is God Himself. I am asking God to remove any distractions.
Who am I?
Why am I here?
What should I do with my life?
Where do I look to find these answers?
Following my conversion to Christ Jesus by means of grace through faith in Christ Jesus, my 'guidebook' for living became the Bible.
The Bible gives light or understanding to our walk. Psalm 119:105 says God's Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. How so? Psalm 119:130 explains further. The unfolding of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. "Unfolding" here means like a door or entrance.
A casual reading of the Scriptures is not sufficient to find the light or understanding we need to live a life that will count in eternity.
Here are just a few references as to how one should walk, according to the Bible.
1. We are to walk according to God's commandments.
2. We are to walk as Jesus walked. How did Jesus walk? He tells us this in John's Gospel. Jesus always did the will of God, the Father. See John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38-40. Jesus expects us to live the same way!
3. We will walk in humility of mind, considering others as more important than ourselves. [see Philippians 2:3-8].
4. We will walk in love. If you love Me, you will obey My commands. John 14. Not the gushy, sentimental, romantic, sensual type of love. Rather the commands of Christ, which begin with "repent". Continue with "you must be born again". How many of Christ's commands do you know of, let alone keep? Ephesians 5:2 tells us what it looks like to 'walk in love'. A careful reading of all of Ephesians 5 will give you great understanding of what walking in love looks like.
5. We are to walk in faith.. not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7.
6. We will walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. Everyone likes the idea of power. But power is about doing what we ought, not what we want. In fact to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit means to walk in the midst of a great war. Not peace. Galatians 5:17 ESV says "For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do."
If there is no struggle in our lives to walk the walk that pleases God, then we are most to be pitied and should be careful to see whether we are indeed in the faith.
7. Romans 6:4 says that we are to walk in newness of life. The old life must be crucified with Christ.
8. We are to walk in forgiveness and reconciliation. Forgiveness is NOT saying : I apologize.
Forgiveness is a promise. Forgiveness is choosing not to hold an offense against another. Forgiveness chooses not to remember and not to bring up this issue again with the other person or anyone else including with our selves. Should our mind begin to think again of the offense we must immediately replace that thought with thankfulness to God that He has chosen to not remember our much greater sins against Him.
9. We will walk in God's ways. Many times God asked this of His chosen people. There were promises of blessings for doing this and punishment for failing to do so. What are His ways? His moral ways as made clear in His commands and shown by Who He is. This includes truth, righteousness, light, purity.
How are we NOT to walk? Psalm 1 says NOT in the counsel of the ungodly. Where do you get your guidance? We are NOT to walk in the imagination of our own hearts and after other gods [Jer. 13:10] or walk in lies. We are not to walk in darkness.
But what happens when we feel we simply cannot walk another step? We are weary of body, mind or soul. Downtrodden and despairing. We are to look upward. We are to "walk on." Suffering is a prism through which we see life is quite a different way.
Paul prayed three times for relief from a 'thorn' in the flesh. God's answer:“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV. I am not yet at the point of 'boasting' about my infirmities. But I am by God's grace moving in that direction.
My goal is to be fully satisfied with God alone. My goal is God Himself. I am asking God to remove any distractions.
Mollie Jo and Caleb Cassidy said so well in their song, "Wait On".. To walk with God, no strength is lost, walk on.
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