Learning God’s Pace

“And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.”  Genesis 3:8

“But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.”   Rev. 3:4

During my undergraduate years at another Christian liberal arts school it was a common thing to go for a walk with a friend. Yes, it was a nice break from studies or working or whatever else was going on, but more importantly it was a time to strengthen our relationship. We would talk about what was happening in our lives, both the mundane and the profound. Sometimes conversation was lively, sometimes sombre, sometimes absent. Yet there was something about matching steps with someone else, heading in the same direction, that created a deep bond with that person.

Perhaps that is why one of the most common metaphors for our life with God is a walk. From Genesis to Revelation and countless references in between—to paths, steps and feet—we are invited to walk with God.

Nowadays, I try to go for a walk early in the morning, to get a bit of exercise, enjoy the quiet and have time to reflect before the activities of the day. And there are some things I notice about walking:

• It requires physical energy but, unlike running, I can sustain it for longer periods of time.
• I realize that the direction can be changed in one step or I can stop instantly if there is danger in the path.
• I have a chance to notice things more easily than riding my bike or driving my car: I am more engaged in the world around me.

Of course all of this means walking takes longer to get where I’m going.

In biblical times walking was a common form of travel. With the exception of one short trip into Jerusalem on a donkey (who more than likely was walking), it seems Jesus walked everywhere he went. And so this metaphor of walking would have had much more meaning to the people of that time.

What about us in this day of planes and trains and automobiles? Have we lost what it means to walk with God? Last week in Syd’s devotional he suggested that “running life like a 400 metre race diminishes us, others, God and his world.” 

So here is our really big challenge: to take God’s invitation seriously and walk with him.

I don’t know what that will mean for you. But for me it means that when I find myself with too many things on my plate I need to stop and ask God if what I’m doing is really what he has asked me to do or if I have other motives for being too busy.  It means in the evening taking stock of my day to see where I saw him work in my life, and in the lives of others, to thank him or confess my hurry not to notice.  To take time to sit with a passage of scripture and let my thoughts focus on it. And not to talk so much when I pray but to be still so I can listen for his voice.

I know that if I want to walk with God, I need to learn his pace.