We all know what the word walk means. We watch a baby take its first steps and soon they are walking everywhere. Pretty soon it is the common mode of getting around and soon taken for granted. As we grow older walking can take on many different pictures in our head. For the person who is paralyzed in the legs, it’s a dream or a hope for the future. For the runner, it’s the cooldown from a long run, a chance to let the heart rate normalize. For many adults. it’s a means of staying active, it’s an exercise to be physically fit. For the Christian, it’s often used to describe how we live. The Christian life is often represented as a journey that we must walk to get to our final destination.
As we proceed on this journey there must be some direction. When I travel, I use a GPS, or the old- fashioned way, I use a map. In the Christian walk, we have a GPS. We have the Bible to give us direction, but just like a map, unless we read it, we won’t know how to finish this walk we are on. We need to study to know which direction to take. We must study if we want others to listen and follow us. We must know where we are going and how we will get there.
II Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needed not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
When I walk, I pay attention to what is before me. Nothing worse than stepping in a pothole and turning my ankle. There are potholes in the Christian walk too. That is why Paul says in Ephesians 5:15 to walk circumspectly, that’s paying attention to everything around us. Satan wants to devour us, and if we are not careful and paying attention, he will throw that pothole right in front of us and we will fall.
Ephesians 5:15 “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,”
I Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”
As we walk on the highway of life we may come across detours. Life seems to be full of them, but we need to understand God is always in control, and those detours are there for a reason. It may be to keep us from a bad situation, or an area of temptation. It could also be there to lead us through a valley where we can learn how to trust Him and how to climb out with God’s help. Our walk may also lead us in the valley so we will appreciate the mountain top. Through each of these situations, it is important that we keep walking. Philippians 3:13-14 teaches us that we have not yet finished the walk, but when we persevere and press forward, we will receive the prize.
Philippians 3:13-14 “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
There may also be times on our walk that we stumble and may even fall, but if we get up, we can still finish the race successfully. If we have sinned God will forgive. I John 1:9 teaches us that when we do our part and confess, God will do His part and forgive.
I John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Sometimes on our walk, we feel weak and incapable of completing our walk. We need energy from food. As a Christian, my food is the word of God. God’s word will keep us from sin, and it will strengthen us to complete the task.
Isaiah 40:31 “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
Psalm 119:11 “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
When there are times, we feel we aren’t accomplishing much, just keep walking. We have much to keep going for, and we are expected to press on. We must walk on for the sake of those who are watching, and for the love of our Savior. Nothing will be as satisfying and rewarding as finishing the race.
