Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. – Galatians 5:25
Once upon a time, there was a garden. It was bountiful and beautiful, with lush green trees and a riot of colorful fruits and flowers. The days were warm but not hot and sunlight glittered on the dancing waters of the nearby rivers.
The first man walked there and he did not walk alone. He walked with God.
But then he made a terrible choice. He chose faithlessness. He chose to distrust. He chose to walk away.
Since this single point, mankind has been choosing to walk away from or walk with God. We call walking away walking in the flesh. And we call walking with God walking in the Spirit.
But our vision is now clouded and the earth we walk bears the stain of death. Yet if we look hard enough there are sacred moments. Moments when a sunset shouts with impossible color. Moments when a thunderclap in a Summer storm roars, reminding us of God’s might. Moments when a brook’s gentle babble reminds us of Christ, the Living Water, flowing freely. Moments when we hear God’s still small voice in the whisper of a Summer breeze.
He is ever present with us. If we pay attention, we hear God. If we pause and reflect, we can walk with Him. But suddenly we find we stopped listening. Perhaps we got distracted. Or perhaps we forgot Him.
It is the greatest tragedy in the Bible. Over and over, people forgot God. Instead they turned their wandering eyes to Baal, to Asherah, to envy, to riches, to lust. Their fascination turned to their flesh.
But that was then, right? In ancient times they were just nomads in tents carrying a heavy golden box around the desert, lost and homeless for years. Back then they were a tiny nation besieged by giants and mighty warriors. They were foolish kings who became beguiled by their excess, easily led astray. Not us. We walk in a garden with roses wet with morning dew and we talk with Jesus. We have faith in this.
But faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Faith comes by listening to Him. By truly seeking Him. Inexhaustibly seeking. By seeking Him first. By being passionate about pursuing God. By taking moments to stop and praise Him. By making the time to truly listen to Him. By remembering who He is. By loving Him above all else.
We can still walk with Him. We walk with Him when we remember Him. We remember Him in praise. We remember Him when we read His word. We remember Him when we do the things He has asked: love, pray, and go and tell others about Him.
We are just as prone to forgetting God as anyone in any of the stories in the Bible when we walk by sight. When fear and doubt crowd in, when we are swallowing envy and bitterness, or when we choke back rage, we can become blinded to God. We don’t feel Him there when we are drowning in ourselves. Remembering God is a discipline.
God was there and is there, steadfast, reliable and loving, our Cornerstone and our Abba. He never left us and we were never forsaken by Him. He never forgets a single one of us. We are never alone when we choose to walk with God.
Written by Janet Keefe
