|
Walking With God
“And
Enoch walked with God: and he was not, for God took him”
(Genesis 5:24).
To walk with God is a
special blessing, but a walk which He Himself desires of us, even
requires (Micah 6:8).
To walk with God
necessitates agreement with Him. “Can two walk together unless they are
agreed?” (Amos 3:3). This agreement doesn’t involve mutual concessions,
however, but a setting forth by Him of His will, coupled with our
submission to it (Isaiah 1:18-20).
Walking with God involves
righteous living (Malachi 2:6; Revelation 3:4). “Noah was a righteous
man… Noah walked with God” (Genesis 6:9). We cannot “walk in darkness”
and continue to walk with, remain in fellowship with, our God (1 John
1:5ff).
All of this demands
humility on our part. “And what does the Lord require of you but to…
walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8). There can be no prideful
‘walking ahead’ of God (“Lord, let me tell you how I think things ought
to be!”). No, while we are to walk with God, we must still remember WHO
we’re walking with.
But does a walk with
another not also imply an awareness of their presence? Whether I am
riding in a car with someone… or walking through the neighborhood with
them… I know that they are there. It could be that we’re not even
talking at particular moments, but I constantly have a consciousness of
their presence.
Walking with God involves
such a knowledge-- No, more than this-- an awareness of God’s
presence, a continual consciousness of God being near (Psalm
23:4; 34:18; 119:151; 139:7-10). Thus… when I wake up in the morning,
“God is with me.” When I’m driving to work, “God is with me.” When I’m
eating a business lunch with some clients, “God is with me.” When I’m at
home with my spouse and children, “God is with me.” When I’m at worship
assembly, “God is with me.” This is how our relationship with God must
be. We are walking with Him, after all! And our awareness of His
presence permeates and affects every part of our lives. This is,
essentially, true godliness, or God-ward-ness. Beloved, does this
describe your walk in life? Are you walking with God?
“Be with me, Lord.
No other gift or blessing
Thou could bestow, could with this one compare:
A constant sense of Thy
abiding presence,
Wher-e’er I am, To feel
that Thou art near.”
(T.O. Chisolm)
--Mike Noble
|
