Walking requires two people to be at the same pace
It can be very frustrating to walk with someone who is either walking faster than you or walking much slower than you. When both people are walking at the same pace, it makes the experience a much more enjoyable process.
The Lord has a certain pace of walk for us. If we walk at His pace, we will not be faced with frustration or disillusionment. Some with Type A personalities want to hurry God and make Him move faster. The thinking is if we walk fast enough, God will just have to catch up and bless our good works. Soon we find out we can’t hear God because he is not being pressured to go at our pace. He is standing behind waiting for us to slow down.
There are others who want to walk a lot slower than God. They will try to remind God of their past spiritual hurts and find excuses to slow down or even stop. The Lord knows what we are capable of, and He can heal and mend every wound should it be necessary. If the Lord is leading us at a certain pace, He knows we have the capacity and the ability to do it with His help. We just have make sure the Lord is asking us to go at a certain pace and not people’s pressure.
I have been in both camps at different times, and I have experienced frustration and disillusionment when I have tried to walk faster or slower than Him. Walking with God is a process that we continually have to adjust our speed and go at God’s pace.
Walking together requires going in the same direction
We will not be walking together long if we don’t go in the same direction. God is the leader, and sometimes He will choose rough paths for us to walk on. This is where we may complain and whine about the terrain and wonder why He had to choose this path.
Trusting God is an important element in walking with God. It’s like going on a long hike with someone who leads the group on tricky and unlabeled trails. The leader must be trusted otherwise we can be arguing about what turn to take at every juncture. This will cause frustration, getting lost, or going in circles.
We were on a camping trip with some friends a few years ago and decided to go hiking in the forest. Everything was great until we came to a major “Y” on the road and a decision had to be made as to which way to go. Our group leader suggested left and a couple of people disagreed and thought taking the right path is the correct way. We went in circles twice before they realized that the leader was right all along. By then, I was not happy to be on those trails anymore and started murmuring like the Israelites in the desert because I was hot and thirsty!
Life is a long journey. Walking with God will be more pleasurable if we can enjoy the process of walking, stay at his pace, and trust His leading in our lives. When we do these things, we will get to enjoy the company of the Lord more, treasure our loved ones, listen to the birds, watch the butterflies, and smell the flowers along the way rather than being focused on getting to a destination.
For comments, please email me at Karlinefischer@yahoo.com.