You are not alone. Wherever you are in your spiritual journey, God is with you. He is always calling, always inviting, and always empowering you to know Him and to walk more closely with Him. This is true whether you’re still questioning His existence and are honestly seeking, or you’ve already discovered Him, accepted His gift of salvation, and confessed Jesus as Lord of your life. It is true whether you’re a baby Christian taking your first steps or you’re a mature believer longing to walk more closely, more consistently, more confidently with your beloved Savior.
As we enter the New Year, our loving God—who created you for fellowship—beckons you nearer. He turns His face toward you and calls you by name. No matter how far away you may feel, if you will take that first step of faith and keep following one step at a time, He will mark the trail and remove obstacles—that you may know Him and know Him better.
In this article, we’ll talk about the fact that God made us for fellowship; we’re created to walk with Him in faith. From our first steps with Him, it’s important that we listen to His voice and keep our eyes focused on Him. We will also look at the way we are able to gain confidence and find our faith strengthened when He calls us to walk with Him into battle. Even when we must walk through suffering, He walks with us and has our highest good in mind. Finally, we will look at God’s faithfulness to always guide us in the right direction; as we pursue the eternal goal of our earthly journey, we gain an imperishable inheritance.
We’re Created to Walk with God in Faith
God created us to share fellowship with Him—on Earth and in Heaven. Once we have accepted the gift of eternal life given by grace through the redeeming work of Jesus Christ, we begin a walk with God that is meant to last eternally—a walk that is meant to begin in this life and continue seamlessly into the next.
When you are a Christian, you’re not simply one who has made a decision. You are one who has a life of intimate fellowship with God, walking day by day. This continuous fellowship with God is a walk of faith.
Let’s look at a walk of faith in the Old Testament that was literally seamless. Genesis Chapter 5 tells us about Enoch: “Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him” (Genesis 5:21-24).
The Bible doesn’t say Enoch died. He was raptured. He was taken straight to Heaven. Hebrews 11:5-6 says, “By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, ‘and was not found, because God had taken him’; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
So how did Enoch please God? By walking with God. How did he walk with God? He believed God. The life of walking with God is simply a life of faith. Where did he get this faith? He got faith from the Word of God. The same way you get it. Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.”
God created you for fellowship. Just as you get to know people by talking with them, you get to know God through His Word. You attend to His Word. You believe His Word. And you walk with Him in faith.
Hebrews 11 talks about another man who walked by faith. What we learn about the faith of Abraham is that when he kept his eyes on God, his walk was close and fruitful. Hebrews 11:8-10 says, “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”
Abraham was a pagan, an idolater. He lived in a place called Ur of the Chaldees when God met him, spoke to him, and enrolled him in the School of Faith 2000 years before Christ. He was a 75-year-old pagan, and he became the father of all who believe. He’s settled in Ur. He has a beautiful wife. He has a business. He has kinfolks. And he leaves it all to go to a country he has never seen. And he’s marching under sealed orders. God doesn’t tell him where he’s going to go. God doesn’t tell him how long it’s going to take him to get there. God doesn’t tell him what he’s going to do when he gets there, how long he’s going to stay there, or what’s going to happen to him. God just says, “Get up and go.”
From our first steps with God, it’s important that we listen to His voice and keep our eyes focused on Him. This is what Abraham did most of his life after he met God. He wasn’t perfect, but he followed these principles:
He listened to the Lord’s voice.
He ventured out on faith, obeying what he knew God wanted him to do.
He valued God’s direction. He established priorities in line with that direction and followed those priorities.
He stayed true to the vision. He stayed focused.
He remained vigilant; even when he was tested most severely.
There is a deadly war going on between God and Satan, and the battleground is your mind and your soul. And those of us who are Christians are caught up in this battle. According to 2 Corinthians 10:3, “…though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh.” So right away we know we’re talking about a battle. In 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 the thought continues: “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” Underscore that, “bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”
Satan’s desire is to conquer and to control your thought life and then to make your thought life a citadel from which he can war against God. Satan wants your mind. The devil wants to get your mind because the devil knows if he can get your mind, he can corrupt you; he can pull you away from the Lord Jesus Christ.
But you’ve also been given the mind of Christ.
Ephesians 4:23 says, “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” You can change the way you live by changing the way you think. Romans 12:2 says, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
You must continuously point your mind toward:
the sovereignty of your commander, the Lord Jesus Christ; you must believe He is absolutely in charge
the authority of your commission—Jesus has given you the legal right to act on His behalf as you come against the devil’s schemes
the certainty of your courage—you have the right to say, “Listen! I belong to Jesus Christ. He’s won the battle for me. He has given me authority, and because of that, I have courage, and I am going to win this battle.”
You have a choice to keep your mind pure and sincere. And if you do, you can walk closely to Christ and accomplish the purposes for which He created you and redeemed you. And when you do that, you gain confidence. Your faith is buoyed. Together with Christ you are victorious.
Walking with God, Even Through Suffering, is for Our Highest Good
The age in which we live is filled with sickness, war, hate, riots, sorrow, and confusion. And man doesn’t seem to be able to do anything about it. He longs for a better day, and it gets worse. Man’s golden dream turns to rust. Man’s millennium turns to pandemonium.
While we’re walking with God, we sometimes must walk through sorrow, suffering, pain, disappointment, fear, frustration, and confusion. What does the Bible have to say about all of this?
Romans 8:18 says, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
When faced with suffering, it’s easy even for believers to be filled with anger, fear and doubt—to ask, “Where is God?”
He is here. And there is hope. Romans 8:21 says, “the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.” We see here the word “bondage” and the word “liberty.” And in Romans 8:24, we see another word: “For we were saved in this hope…”
These three words—bondage, liberty, and hope—teach us how to make sense out of suffering. Bondage deals with yesterday’s curse. Because of the Fall, all creation is subject to the curse of confusion and suffering. Adam sinned and took all creation down with him. Our perfect God made everything perfect and gave man perfect freedom. Man used that freedom to sin, and sin is bondage.
Liberty is found in Jesus Christ, who delivered us from bondage and corruption. He delivered us and we are saved in hope—to walk in hope!
As we walk with God through suffering, we are aware of yesterday’s curse; our focus on the liberty granted to us in Jesus Christ is sharpened. Our faith in ultimate deliverance from all evil is strengthened. Our understanding of God’s love—and our ability to love Him—is increased. Finally, as we walk with God through suffering, we gain a better vision of the glory for which we’re preserved. This is for our highest good.
For more about walking with God in the valley, read Why Do We Suffer?
We Gain an Imperishable Inheritance
Whether strolling through a sunny meadow, struggling in a dark valley, or ascending to a beautiful summit, believers can be certain that walking with God takes us in the right direction. Our journey leads to a prosperous life and an imperishable inheritance.
Psalm 1:3 speaks of the way (the walk) of the righteous man: “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.”
Psalm 23 ends with David’s confident statement: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”
God takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servants. Our problem is that many of us don’t understand what real prosperity is. Real prosperity is fruitfulness in the things God has planned for us to accomplish.
Real prosperity is gained as you walk with God and follow five important principles:
Establish your cause—a God-given goal or purpose. Avoid vague, unworthy, unbalanced goals.
Examine your condition—take stock of where you are right now, at the problems and opportunities before you as you pursue your cause.
Encourage your confidence—examine the Word of God and memorize and repeat to yourself God’s promises. Through prayer and Scripture reading, keep your motives pure.
Enforce your character—discipline your decisions, your time, and your appetites so that you can realize the vision God placed before you.
Enlist your comrades—God makes us dependent on one another; that’s the reason we have the Church.
Real success is the progressive realization of the will of God for your life and ultimately, real prosperity is an imperishable inheritance in Heaven, which God promises to all those who put their trust in Jesus Christ.
Soon and very soon, you’re going to stand before God. And when you die, you’re going to leave behind everything you have and you’re going to take with you everything that you are.
Jesus said: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul” (Mark 8:36-37)?
If you don’t yet know Jesus Christ and you want real success in this life, and if you want to be certain you have an imperishable inheritance kept for you in Heaven, would you pray a prayer like this:
“Lord Jesus, I’m a sinner and I need to be saved. You died to save me, and You promised to save me if I would trust You. I do trust You. I believe You’re the Son of God. I believe You paid for my sin with Your blood on the cross. I believe that God raised You from the dead. And now I receive You by faith as my Lord and Savior. I turn from my sin to You, Lord Jesus. Save me by Your grace. I receive the gift of salvation. And from this moment on, I will live for You, not in order to be saved, but because I am saved. I will live for You, my Lord. And help me never to be ashamed of You. In Your name, I pray. Amen.”
