The Apostle Paul in his first letter to the church at Thessalonica wrote this admonition in Ch. 4, Verse 1, “Furthermore then we beseech (implore) you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus that as ye have received of us ‘how ye (and we) ought to walk’ and ‘please God,’ so ye would abound more and more.” Recently, we referred to Enoch in Genesis 5:22 and 24 where we are told twice that Enoch walked with God. When we read of Enoch in Hebrews 11:5, the Bible does not say that he walked with God, but that he “had this testimony, that he pleased God.” Without a doubt, the person who walks with God pleases God, and we cannot fully please God if we do not walk with Him.
It seems quite safe to say that walking with God is a learning process. We are constantly and continually learning how to walk. Sometimes we walk and sometimes we run. Sometimes we stand firm and march forward, but sometimes we trip over the smallest things and stumble and fall. Sometimes we move confidently ahead and sometimes we halt or take steps backward but, if we will keep our eyes on Jesus and trust in Him, we will be able to walk this supernatural walk we call living the Christian life. Faith in Christ with our focus on Him is the key to success in this great journey. If we are to walk with God, there are some things we need to keep in mind.
1. Our top priority must be to please Him. Walking with God is not a 100-yard dash and it is not a vacation or a season. It is a life of doing “those things that are pleasing in His sight,” (I John 3:22).
2. In order to do those things that please Him, we must make His Word the final authority in our lives. We must be much in the Bible for we must learn it in order to live it.
3. We must spend much time with Him living in a continual state or attitude of prayer. The song written by Ron Block and performed by Alison Krauss words it, “In your love, I find release; a haven from my unbelief. Take my life and let me be, a living prayer my God to Thee.”
4. It is a necessity, also, that we fix our focus on Jesus if we are to please Him. Isaiah 26:3 promises us, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.” A dear friend of mind, Tommy Drewett, frequently sang this song in his concerts at my home church, “Keep my mind on You, Jesus, as I walk this weary land. Keep my feet on solid rock in this world of shifting sand. For the way is growing dreary, and the world is darker, too. So in every situation, help me keep my mind on You,” (Author unknown).
5. Not only must we fix our minds on the Lord, we must set our affections on Heavenly things. We read in Colossians 3:1,2, that we are to, “Seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God,” and to “Set your affection on things above not on things on the earth.” Jesus warned that “cares and riches and pleasures of this life” choke the Word of God in our lives (Luke 8:14).
6. The Christian life is often referred to as a walk of faith. Hebrews 11:6 tells us, “But without faith, it is impossible to please Him (God).” Sometimes we feel our faith is not as strong as we would like it to be, but there is real hope and help here for Romans 10:17 comes to our rescue, “So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” As we devour the Scriptures, our faith increases.
7. Finally, it is imperative to love the things God loves and hate the things God hates. We are reminded of a very profound question in Amos 3:3, “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” Psalm 97:10 commands us, “Ye that love the Lord, hate evil.” In a few words here we find that we are to hate sin. But, on the other hand, we are to love God, one another, the House of God, the Word of God, the will of God, those who do not know Him, etc., etc.
May our passionate pursuit and persistent prayer be, “Lord, just a closer, closer walk with Thee.”
— Randy Zinn is pastor of Russell Missionary Baptist Church, Russell, Ark.; formerly of Okmulgee.
