walking

Friends, walking with the Lord is not an easy task. 

 

In a culture that seems to be constantly bombarded with self-help quotes and poems and Instagram captions, sometimes living a life reflective of Jesus Christ seems like it’s the simplest thing in the world. But these encouraging words in Scripture such as Proverbs 3:5-6 or Joshua 1:9 are so much deeper than the imprint of the ink underneath the calligraphy in the notebook. The truth is, trusting the Lord with all of our heart isn’t a one-time-deal. In every moment of everyday and in every situation we may find ourselves in, we must make a choice to trust when everything inside of us tells us to fear. This is how we can see the true power of Scripture. It is counter-intuitive; it provokes a change of ways. Yet, through the beauty of the Gospel, we see how it ultimately reveals the way to truest life.

 

John 14:6

“Jesus told him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”

 

For it is only by walking in His ways, that we may see the truth and live life in all its fullness. But here we are again at this idea: walking with the Lord. Sometimes walking with Him feels like a skip through a meadow and other times it seems like we are shuffling our feet into a pit of fire; sometimes we totally see where the Lord is leading us, while at other times his way seems like the scariest path in the world. During this current season of my life, both of these feelings have been so evident as I’ve been navigating what it means to live life in a new place. Some days I’m skipping with joy, and other days I’m shuffling in fear. How can both of these be true of a good and loving God? Why does His way often seem so clouded and mysterious and unknown? How can this scary path be better than what I was planning on doing? These questions have been circling my thoughts and consuming my faith. Yet again, trusting the Lord with all of our heart and leaning not into our own understanding is not as simple as it sounds. This act requires full surrender of our plans, our doubts, and our insecurities. However, in this moment of standing right at the edge of trust, the words of Matthew keep pressing deep into my heart.

 

Matthew 6:8

“Don’t be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask him.”

 

In this moment as Jesus is teaching the people how they should pray, He reveals this beautiful truth about God: He is omniscient. He knows all, and He knows exactly what we need. Who else can see our thoughts at Psalm 139 reminds us? Who else knows the number of hairs on our head? Only Him. This is why we can have full confidence in our walking. We know the goodness of our father and we believe that he knows exactly what we need and exactly when we need it. He won’t lead us astray, despite when we, in our humanity, don’t understand the path He’s leading us on. Sure, it might be a little bit of an uphill climb, and we may have to go through some valleys and deserts, but he is taking us to the land of the living and he is holding our hand the entire way. 

It is my prayer in this season of looking down at many open roads, that I may call to mind this verse in Matthew. He knows what I need far more than I do, thus I can have full confidence in the way he leads me through. I pray too that you all might keep these words close to your heart in whatever season you may be in. Whether skipping or shuffling, I pray that you may hold fast the truth that your loving and good father in Heaven knows exactly what you need right now and He will reveal His goodness in your life as you obediently follow, hand in hand with Him.

 

So ya, walking with him isn’t an easy thing to do, but it always leads to goodness. This we can trust fully in, that he is a good God and he will never leave us or forsake us. Let’s walk with Him.