Walking with God
Many times we question if we should begin our walk with God. We feel drawn to seek God and ponder what it means to start a new life with God; however, we also question what this will mean in our lives. Will this mean I have to give up my habits? Will I have to change my current lifestyle? Does it mean that I have to leave some people behind and seek new friends? Will I have to start going to church more and study the bible more? Will I be looked as weird for making these changes in my life? Will people make fun of me for trying to know God? Will they judge me for walking with God?
When I began my walk with God, I thought about all these questions and a hundred more. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to make this big change in my life. Most importantly, I wasn’t sure if I was worthy enough to know God and pursue a relationship with Him. This leads me into the topic of change. If we want to pursue a real relationship with our Father, God, we have to be ready to make real changes in our lives.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” — Romans 12:2
We are living sacrifices to God as a result of his mercies. What are we sacrificing? By transforming, not conforming. We change. We grow. We become true followers and disciples of the Lord. We are not of this world. Thus, we acknowledge this, trust, and become obedient by not conforming to this world. Instead, we allow ourselves to be transformed, let go, and let God. How do we do this? By renewing our minds in discerning spiritual truth. Our thinking and our actions must be changed so that we eventually become a reflection of God’s goodness and love. Once you have been renewed, the old you will pass away and you will become a new creation because you are in Christ and Christ is in you (2 Corinthians 5:17).
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.” — John 15:18-23
However, be aware of the challenges that come along with this new change and new life. In John 15, we read that, again, we are not of this world. God created us to be renewed, to serve Him, and to serve others so that they can be renewed as well. Once we accept this and begin our walk with God, we will experience many obstacles, temptations, and hardships. We will lose friends, we will lose loved ones, and at times, we will even lose ourselves through temptations, trials, and tribulations. But remember, we are not of this world and the world will do everything it can to keep us away from our Father in Heaven. This life we were given is temporary. We are of something greater and there is an eternal kingdom that awaits us with everlasting love, joy, and serenity. Do not lose sight of what is good in the eyes of God, persist, and persevere. The journey is a long and arduous one, but don’t give up on what God has called you to do and be because He is good and His reward is worth the sacrifices and changes.
So, how do we accept change into our lives?
Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths. — Proverbs 3:5-6
When we let God into our hearts and lives, we are accepting change and a new life. We trust in His will. We trust that He is the all-knowing, good, loving, and just Father that we learn He is. In saying that, His will is exactly this: all-knowing, good, loving, and just. If we trust in the Lord, we trust that He knows what is good and best for us. Once we acknowledge this, we no longer have to lean on our own understanding to know what is “good” and “best” for us.
However, most of us become desperate to understand His will for us that it may become discouraging to continue on this journey. We fail to acknowledge that we cannot understand him for we are not like Him, He is God. It is beyond our human capacity to understand God and His will for us, but what we can simply do is trust. God tells us that “[his] thoughts are not [our] thoughts, neither we [our] ways [His] ways. . . For as the heavens are higher than earth, so are [His] ways higher than [our] ways and [His] thoughts than [our] ways (Isaiah 55:8–9).” Therefore, we cannot compare our thoughts and our ways with His ways. We are not meant to think like Him, so we trust in His thoughts, His ways, His will, and His plans.
Nonetheless, do not despair and do not worry (Matthew 6:25). God asks us to seek His kingdom and His righteousness first, and everything will be given to us as well (Matthew 6:33). As seen in Matthew 6:34, He also tells us to not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. In that same way, do not worry because you do not understand what is going on in your life. There is nothing we cannot do when we have God in our hearts. We can do everything through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13). In that same way, God has equipped us for battle even though we do not know Him (Isaiah 45:5).
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” — Jeremiah 29:11
Just as how God knows us, He also knows what is best for us. God already has a plan for us and He affirms His love and goodness through His plan for us (as seen in Jeremiah 29:11). All we have to do is trust in Him with all our hearts. This means that we cannot place our own understandings above His right to direct our lives. His will and His plan is bigger than what we can ever imagine. Once we let God into our lives and give our lives to God, we are no longer walking alone in this life — we walk with God. Do not lose hope brothers and sisters. Keep on walking with the Lord and never lose sight on what is good. Heaven is waiting.
