Today is Sunday. I
LOVE Sundays. On Sundays I get to spend the whole day in fellowship with other
believers as we worship our gracious God and Saviour. God's command to worship
Him on Sundays is not
generally difficult for me.
But some of His
commands are difficult.
Like having a quiet
and gentle spirit.
In the craziness of
everyday life between work, house chores, music teaching, laundry, dinner
making, talking to my neighbours, church involvement, emails, keeping up with
family and friends, and unexpected trouble (like the battery dying on my car)
how am I supposed to have a quiet and gentle spirit? When the world around me
is filled with noise and chaos how can my heart be still?
But then I remember
the Israelites. No, I don't think of them as an example of being quiet and
gentle. Hold on, I'll explain. When God told them to leave Egypt I'm sure some
of them thought "how are we going to get to the Promised Land? That's
really far and we've got animals and kids and elderly people AND it's through
the desert." But what did God give them so they could make it? He not only
gave them the pillar of fire to guide their way…He also gave them feet.
Feet.
How were they going
to get to Canaan? By walking. God's angel was with them but they were getting
there by putting one foot in front of the other.
So that makes me
ask; what kind of feet has God given me? I know that He is with me, not because
of a pillar of fire but because His Spirit lives inside of me. However, He not
only gives me His Spirit…He also tells me to walk.
Walking is a choice. The Israelites
would have never gotten to Canaan if they had stayed where they were. I think
that's obvious. But sometimes we think we can get closer to God by being the
same as we've always been. Not only did the Israelites have to walk, they had
to walk through the desert. So the path God requires of us will probably not be
for the lazy or faint of heart.
Walking as God
calls me to walk means I can't be selfish with my time. I want to sleep in…but
getting up early to spend time sitting at Jesus feet with His Word before me
and a prayerful heart, meditating on what He is saying is to walk. Listening to music
that moves my heart to worship rather than music that gratifies my flesh is to walk. To be still in
God's presence and to wait on Him is
to walk. Reading books that make me think and grow is to walk. Helping others who
are in need and living in community with my church family, worshiping with them is to walk.
The journey to the
Promised Land is through a desert filled with sin and sorrow. God gives us His
Spirit and tells us to walk...but don't worry, just like the Israelites, our
shoes won't wear out till be get to our destination.
God is
faithful.
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