What It Means To Walk With God

‘Put on Christ!’ …and you will see the wings of hope spreading and letting you journey with joy towards the future…” – Pope Francis

I’ve been to a lot of places.  I’ve had very

memorable journeys that taught me much and allowed me to meet good people along the way.  I still have a long way to go and a lot more places I long to see.  But I know deep within me that our greatest journey is not our physical  journey, but our spiritual journey towards becoming more and more like Jesus Christ.

What Does It Mean to Walk With God?

• Walking with God is walking with spiritual eyes.  It is trusting the Guide more than trusting the road we see ahead, because many paths that appear good are really broken and will not lead us anywhere safe.

• To walk with God is to grow in the awareness of His love for me.  It is to grow from wanting to believe to being able to believe, from having the knowledge of His love to having the sweet experience of His presence.  There is no end to knowing Him, there is no end to the joy of walking with God.

• Walking with God doesn’t mean walking ahead of Him.  How many times have we exhausted ourselves because instead of being led by God, we tried to walk ahead of Him and go our own way?

• Walking with God is walking in the silence of our hearts. It doesn’t mean one becomes mute or speechless.  It doesn’t mean the absence of sound or music.  But walking in silence means walking without the distraction of noise and of the many other voices that distract us from hearing the sweetness of God’s own voice.  While the world presents chatter and useless talks, God’s voice soothes our hearts and gives us peace.  While the world shouts in anger and in fear, God’s voice reassures us and gives us joy.

• Walking with God doesn’t mean we don’t rest.  God knows how much we need it!  Even the great prophet Elijah was made to sleep and eat for the journey is too much for him.  Let us avail of these moments when we can rest in God and regain the strength we need to continue walking in His ways.

• Walking with God is walking in faith with the One who leads.  Along the way are unexpected turns and twists in the road, but we trust the Hand that leads us.  We trust in the God who has never let us down and who will do everything in His great power and love to lead us to eternal life.

• Walking with God often means letting go of our extra baggage so we can keep up with Him.  Carrying a heavy burden (heavier than the cross we were meant to carry), slows us down, and we find it harder and harder to follow where God is leading us.

• Walking with God also means walking with His friends.  You have the entire communion of saints in heaven praying for you.  You have your guardian angel.  You have Mary as a Mother.  God Himself is a Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), and the Church is a family where we help each other out in love and in joy.  We never walk alone.

It was God who pursued us.  If we are walking with Him now, it is because He has led us away from the wrong path.  He sought us from the darkness where we were and led us into the light of His presence.

Many people think that by serving God, we give up much happiness and we should expect to live a rather boring life. But I believe the opposite is true. When we start our journey with God, we begin our most joyful journey. With God, we can’t even guess what wonders will come our way. We are no longer limited by the thrills and knowledge of the world, and our path would always be exciting, awesome and new!

The LORD is my shepherd:
I shall lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
-Psalm 23:1-3, WEB-BE