Walking with God



Gen.17:1, ‘When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am [a]Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless.’

Abraham, learnt to walk with God and became a friend of God. We read about Enoch, who was yet another person who walked with God for 300 years and was captured into eternity (Gen.5:22).  Walking with God is experiencing His presence in every walk of our life. It’s all about transforming experience to be more and more like Jesus. We become like the ones with whom we walk. This is one reason why many husbands and wives look like brother and sister after years of living with each other. Someone said that we can be understood well by understanding our close friends.   1 Jn.1:26, ‘He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.’  It points out to seven important aspects of our life.

  • Walking with God is walk with a divine vision : 13:14-15, ‘And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; 15 for all the land which you see I give to you and your [c]descendants forever. ‘ Abraham was separated from Lot, his nephew soon after a strife between the herdsmen of Lot and Abraham. The later, being a peace loving person, suggested Lot to take the portion of the land which he chose. Lot lifted up his eyes and saw the plains of Jordan which was well watered. He chose the same and separated from Abraham. Soon after this the Lord spoke to Abraham to lift up his eyes and to look in all the four directions as far as his eyes could see. God promised him to give it to him and his seed. When we feel that we are deprived, deceived and discouraged, the Lord asks us to lift up our eyes to the heavens. Lot saw the well watered plains of Jordan while Abraham saw the promise of God. We live in a world which has nothing to offer us. The crisis and the pandemic seems to snatch away all that a person has. But if we are focused on the Lord, the maker of heaven and the earth teaches us to see the ends of this earth through His eyes. Abraham earlier could see only the left over land, but the Lord extended his view to the limits of what his eyes could behold.
  • Walking with God is walking on His promises: V 17, ’Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.”’ The Lord then asked Abraham to arise and walk through the land which was not yet his i.e. to walk on the promise. Walking on the promises of God shows a far sighted person, who looks beyond the current situations. Such a person overcomes the challenging situations. Enoch saw what God saw while he walked with God and thus, he reached where God reached. If we are walking with our Lord, what do we see ahead? 
  • Walking with God is depending completely on the Lord: Gen.14:22, ‘But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, …..’ Abraham was offered goods which he and his servants had brought back along with the people who were taken captive by Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and his allies. But Abraham refused to accept any good for himself saying that he had raised his hands to the Lord. Raising hands to the Lord represents complete dependency on Him. Had Abraham taken any goods from those kings, he would have been submitting himself to those heathen kings. One’s dependency determines the authority to whom one submits. 
  • Walking with the Lord is walking on covenants: 15:18,On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying:…..’“To your descendants, I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates—…’  God made a covenant with Abraham here. Gen.17:9, ‘And God said to Abraham: “As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.’ Here God asked Abraham to keep His covenant i.e the covenant to circumcise every male child born in the household of Abraham. When God makes a covenant with man, He expects man to keep His covenant in return. God has promised us the land of eternal life, provided we keep the covenant of circumcision of heart. Gen.22:18, ‘ In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”’  God keeps His promise when man obeys His voice i.e. keeping each other’s covenant. Keeping each other’s covenant faithfully shows a strong relation and a close walk.
  • Walking with God is a walk of confidentiality: 18:17, ‘And the Lordsaid, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, …’ The deep mutual trust is a vital aspect of this walk. It’s amazing to see the Lord, the creator of heaven and the earth, sharing His heart with Abraham, just as a man shares with a close friend. Does the Lord unfold His plans and burdens to us? Have we ever sought His face for knowing it? 
  • Walking with God is a walk towards perfection: 17:1, ‘When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lordappeared to Abram and said to him, “I am [a]Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless.’ This is a walk that is an open invitation to walk towards perfection. At the age of 99 years, after so many experiences with the Lord, Abraham was asked to walk towards perfectness. Apostle Paul strived for perfection as mentioned in Phil.3:12. Not that I have already attained,[c] or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Pressing towards perfection shows a close walk with God. 
  • Walking with God is a walk uphill. It’s a walk of sacrifice. 22:6, ‘So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together.’ To keep walking with God, Abraham had to go up the hill of Moriah, with a heart to sacrifice his only son. It was a tough walk, but his faith in the Lord made it victorious. This walk is about carrying one’s own cross and following Christ. Mt.16:24, ‘Not that I have already attained,[c] or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.’ 

Abraham was God’s friend. He had no other friend. Usually, we share our heart’s burdens with our closest friends. But when Abraham was tested when he was asked to offer Isaac as offering, he did not rush to Sarah, his wife to consult, discuss or share. Neither did he approach anyone else. He knew that his friend, God Himself would walk ahead of him all the way to Moriah. That’s why he told his young men to wait at the foot of the mountain, saying, ‘I and lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you’ (Gen.22:5). How well he knew his only friend! How much confidence he had in his only friend! We live in a world, where now even our closest friends have been set apart through ‘social distancing’, ‘quarantine’ etc. Many who go through isolation, are ending up in mental depression even after recovering physically. Let’s realize that we have a friend who can walk into any isolation ward or home. No situation or circumstance is a barrier for our good friend, our Lord. The only barrier, is our doubting attitude and our lack of confidence in Him. Our Lord comes closer to us when we draw closer to Him. Let’s walk with Him and let’s have a closer walk with Him. Such a walk will never be in vain. This will lead us to eternal joy and peace that passeth every understanding.

God bless us all

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