Walking with God
By Tiffany Thibault
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? - Micah 6:8
One of the most amazing milestones to witness in a child’s life is when they learn to walk. They spend months strengthening arm muscles and leg muscles as they crawl around. Then, they discover that they can pull themselves up to stand. As their strength and confidence grow, they begin to walk themselves around the coffee table, holding onto the edge for balance. Finally, the day arrives when they will take their first faltering steps toward a proud parent or grandparent’s outstretched arms. Both of my girls fell down after their first one or two steps, but were quickly scooped up and exuberantly praised for their success. After that moment, they were unstoppable in their new-found freedom and their walking continuously improved.
When the day finally came that they were able to walk outside the safety of our house, I always held their hand so that they could walk right by my side, until they became mature enough to walk by me on their own. Today, though they are now teenagers, my girls continue to walk by my side, engaging in conversation. When walking, if one lags behind, the other person always stops and waits for them to catch up. As we walk, they share their deep thoughts and struggles, and we sort through it together.
I love the words this Bible verse in Micah uses when it tells us to “walk humbly with our God.” To walk humbly simply means we let God be God and let Him be the one in charge. We trust Him to walk beside us, guiding us and leading us according to His plan for our life.
I love that it says for us to walk with Him. We are walking at His side, not behind or in front of Him. As we walk by His side, we can learn from Him. We can grow in relationship with Him. It’s an intentional action that we can take in our faith walk. After her first step, my daughter was not able to walk around the block, let alone go on a hike in the mountains. She had to practice at her walk and get strong enough to get where she is today. The more we choose to walk with the Lord, the easier our steps will be, the further our faith journey with Him.
The Bible speaks of several people who “walked” with God. Adam and Eve used to walk with God in the cool evening, until they chose to walk away from Him. The Bible also mentions that Abraham, Noah and Enoch walked with God, growing in relationship and knowledge of Him. As they walked with God through the years, they learned from Him about true justice, how to love kindness, and about humility. The Bible speaks of their faith, and their reliance on God. These men didn’t choose to walk with God every so often, or just when it was convenient. They chose to do it daily, every single moment through the easy days, and definitely through the hard days.
Abraham, Noah, Enoch weren’t born as great men of faith. They learned to walk with faltering faith steps through each and every situation that came their way. They chose to walk beside Him through the thick and thin of life and therefore these men got through some pretty tough circumstances.
None of us has a perfect life. Each of us has experienced heartbreak, sickness, failure. We live in a sinful world, so none of that pain will ever disappear, but as we journey through it, God will not leave our side. He says, “I will never leave you” (Hebrews 13:5). He wants to walk by us. Joshua 1:9 says: “Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
No matter where you are in your faith journey today, know that you are not alone. The Lord is with you. Allow yourself to turn to Him, to seek His guidance for each of your situations. Just as I dropped everything to stretch out my arms for my daughters' first faltering steps toward me, the Lord is standing before you, stretching out His loving arms, longing for you to turn to Him, to walk with Him as you go through you days. Today can you try walking with Him, asking Him for direction and peace as you go through your moments? He wants to catch you when you fall. He wants to guide you over the rough bumps on the path. He wants to hear your dreams, your heartaches, your longings. He is waiting to walk with you right now. So, put on your walking shoes. Take a walk with God.
Tiffany Thibault enjoys living life with her husband, two daughters and one very large dog. She not only homeschools her girls, but she also loves to write about Jesus and speak about Him to groups of women. She loves long walks, coffee and anything chocolate.
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