Walking with God

October 16, 2024

By Gabriel García V.

On a recent family visit I took a walk around the neighborhood with my older grandson and had a great opportunity to hear some of his deepest yearnings and thoughts. This allowed me to get to know him better and to enjoy an invaluable moment of closeness and companionship with him. The same thing happens to us when we walk with God. We find His desires and will for us, and we experience His presence, intimacy, and assurance, which deepens our knowledge of Him.

As we walk with Him, He reveals Himself to us as He did to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, and He opens our eyes so we can understand the Scriptures and discover His mysteries (Luke 24:13–35).

Let’s explore the different aspects of walking closely with God—not “afar off” (Matthew 26:58), but side by side, communing and conversing with Him, planning together, or simply enjoying each other’s company. An important part of walking with God is maintaining a dialogue with Him in our everyday lives and actions.

When the Bible speaks of “walking,” it often refers to a lifestyle. When we align our lives with Jesus and follow in His footsteps (1 Peter 2:21), we become disciples, not mere believers, which takes a certain amount of sacrifice (Luke 9:23; Matthew 10:38). A quote I read comes to mind: “A disciple walks with Jesus, follows Jesus, and lives with Jesus. This is the difference between a nominal Christian and a disciple.” We are all called to follow, but not all choose to walk closely with our Savior. We are compelled to commit our lives to Him. And in doing so, we naturally call and draw others to follow Him (Matthew 4:19).

Equally, to walk with God means that we choose to walk with others who are in agreement and are walking in the same direction (Amos 3:3). As a result, we will walk in integrity (Proverbs 10:9), and of course this must be done humbly (Micah 6:8). A wonderful thought is to know that when we walk with Jesus we walk in the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).

Now to walk with God must be a daily exercise if we are to stay in close fellowship with Him. I’ve heard it compared to a consistent workout in the gym. Once we miss several days, we start noticing the difference. Therefore, we see the importance of staying in rhythm with Jesus, lest we get slack and lose track of our goal.

All this “walking” may sound tiring, but paradoxically, walking with God leads to rest and renewal, as the shepherd leads us to green pastures and by still waters (Psalm 23). He is touched when we feel faint and exhausted, and we are certain to find rest in Him (Hebrews 4:9–10). His yoke is easy and His burden is light. In Him we can find rest to our souls (Matthew 11:28–30).

Since the dawn of civilization, people have learned to walk with God. Enoch did, in habitual fellowship with God, and was eventually translated (Genesis 5:24 AMPC). Abraham walked with God as well, following His calling until he reached the Promised Land (Genesis 12:1–4). During the exodus, the Hebrew people traveled with God following the cloud He had provided by day and the pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21). Joshua and the new Hebrew generation walked with God across the dry Jordan riverbed to reconquer the land of promise (Joshua 3).

As we saw in the previous examples, the biblical term “walking” evokes the image of a journey or a pilgrimage—it’s more than saying, “I’m going for a walk in the park, I’ll be right back.” As Psalm 84:5,7 poetically expresses: “Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. … They go from strength to strength,” meaning that our hearts are set on pilgrimage, walking side by side with Jesus (unseen for the moment), gaining strength daily, until we reach the place where we encounter Him face to face.

In the New Testament, walking with God is often called “walking in the Spirit” or staying in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25), which would include walking in love, in joy, in kindness, in peace, etc. (Galatians 5:16, 22–23; Romans 8:4).

On the other side of the coin, we can walk in the ways of the world and grow further apart from God and His ways (Ephesians 2:1–2). Walking with God means we won’t walk with the ungodly, nor follow their advice or example (Psalm 1:1), but rather will heed the voice of Jesus to stay on course. We won’t follow the idols of the world—many new ones created by modern technology—but we will stay in step with the Lord, glorifying and worshiping Him.

When we walk with God, we won’t walk in darkness (John 8:12) but in His light (Isaiah 2:5), and a little of that light will reflect off of us and be seen by others, inviting them to follow too. Like the lyrics of the well-beloved hymn: “When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word, what a glory He sheds on our way.”¹

In closing, walking with God is to embark on a fascinating adventure that will take us places we have never imagined. True, it has its perils and challenges, but God promises to give us the strength, guidance, and wisdom to navigate them. So, whether you’re just embarking on this adventure or you’ve been treading with Jesus for many years, may you continue on this exciting pilgrimage side by side with Him. See you in heaven!

¹ “Trust and Obey,” by John Henry Sammis (1846–1919).