by Sam Tolley - Have you ever thought to yourself this is not how life was meant to be? In this prolonged season of isolation, disruption, and loss of freedom, I often think this is not right, this is not normal, this isn’t the way life was meant to be. In this prolonged season of isolation, disruption, and loss of freedom, I often think this is not right, this is not normal, this isn’t the way life was meant to be.
It may not be Covid-19 that has caused you to think this way. It could be all number of different situations, from your marriage or finances to your children, an addiction or even your relationship with God.
I find as a male, I want to try and change or fix any situation in my own strength. As a good Kiwi bloke, I also think I don’t need any help, I can do it on my own. Yet that is not how God created us to live. In Genesis 3:8 we see that Adam and Eve would walk and talk with God in the garden of Eden. Until Eve got them kicked out of course (it couldn’t have been the man’s fault, we don’t do anything wrong…).
This year, some would say I have finally seen the light and actually given up my golf membership. Instead, I have been spending time in the bush just me and God (until covid hit again). While walking in nature and consciously spending time with God, I get this overwhelming sense that this is how life was meant to be. Not necessarily walking in the bush but walking and talking with our Creator, like Adam and Eve did. I believe we were created to have that type of relationship with God, where He is involved in our daily lives. That is how life is meant to be.
Genesis 5 tells us that all the days of Enoch were 365 years and Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.
We can all walk with God. Not just on Sundays but every day. I think God was making a statement here. Enoch got it. He found out what life was meant to be all about, and the Bible says God was so pleased with him that He took him up to heaven at the age of 365.
Who knows God does not do anything by accident! Why 365? Because walking with God is a year-round thing. It’s an everyday thing. It’s not reserved for Sundays or special occasions. It’s 365 days of the year, walking and talking with God.
Noah is also described in Genesis 6:9 as a righteous man, who walked faithfully with God.
Walking with God is not an activity for some Christians, God wants us ALL to walk with Him. It’s the way He created us. We all long for relationship with others but the relationship our heart is looking for more than anything is an intimate relationship 365 days of the year with the Creator and our Saviour.
For some reason many of us have reserved connecting with God for Sunday mornings. But walking with God is something we do everyday. It’s the way it was meant to be.
How to walk with God
So, what exactly does it mean to walk with God? It means pretty much exactly that, walking together throughout life. It’s much the same as walking with a friend or perhaps your spouse. When we go for a walk with someone we talk, we laugh, we enjoy the time together, we listen and at times share our hearts. It’s about friendship, it’s about time.
When we walk with God, we factor Him into our everyday life and our decision making. We spend time praying or talking with Him throughout the day.
The thing that I love about the “walking with God” concept that the Bible uses is that it isn’t running. I’m so thankful for that because I don’t like running and it isn’t just sitting doing nothing either. It’s walking – actively moving together, going where each other is going, wanting to be together.
Walking is not hard, it’s not that strenuous, often you don’t work up much of a sweat unless you’re walking with my wife Jodi, then it’s a different story, she doesn’t like to stroll. It’s always me trying to keep up or this feeling like she is breathing down my neck especially if we are on a bush walk.
But God is not like that, He is always wanting to be next to us, to be with us. That is how it’s meant to be.
As we go about daily life, we walk all the time with ease. In fact, it can pretty much be automatic, kind of like breathing. That is exactly what God wants us to be doing with Him. It’s not supposed to be hard or difficult or require huge brain power, it’s supposed to be natural, easy, and fun.
Honestly, it excites me to think about walking with God. I want to be someone who walks with God constantly. It’s my prayer and my goal to grow more and more in this and I want all of us to grow in it together.
Partnership
Walking with God is not just about relationship, but about doing things together. The way God created all of us was not just to have intimacy with Him but to also have partnership. We are all created to walk with God but to also work with God.
If we walk with God, we also get to work with God, and He gets to work with us. That is how it’s meant to be. God wants to walk with us before he works through us. To put it bluntly, God works with His friends. When God has a friend, divine activity accelerates. God will use the one who walks with Him.
Challenge
Walking and working with God every day is the way it was meant to be. We were created to be in constant connection with God. You don’t have to be perfect to have God with you. Can I challenge you:
Choose to have a lifestyle of walking with God.
Commit to inviting God into each day not just Sunday.
It’s the way life was meant to be.
Sam Tolley is Campus Pastor at Church Unlimited West Auckland, and he also serves on the Board of Promise Keepers NZ.