3 Best Reasons to Walk With God Now

Despite the storms. Despite disappointments. Despite the fury of fighting haters and hard knocks. When life flips you over, it’s time to rise up and walk with God. Well, isn’t it?

That’s what I asked during a recent walk with my husband. We hit the trail near our house. The path is plain. Ups and downs. Twists and turns. Much like life.

“Let’s do this every day,” I said to Dan. For sure, we need it. A walk outdoors clears out the dust. John Muir, the naturalist, said it this way: “Going out, I found, was really going in.”

Only one kind of walk is better.

The walk that takes us to God.

Yeah, I’m going there. Especially now. Our divided world is stumbling fast—hurting and hating—all without hope. Or so it seems. Spend 5 minutes on social media and you feel like hurting and hating, too.

Where can we go to re-set? Our spiritual compass? Our holy navigation? Just one place. Into the light: the heart of God.

That’s exactly where a good walk takes us. Setting a good pace, bundled against the chill, Dan and I left behind the day’s noisy struggles—then quickly got this gift from God:

His long view.

Godly perspective changes everything. Instead of jawing about the day’s latest mess—of which there is plenty—we started dreaming, wow, about next summer? And where we’d like to go? And do? And serve? Not just together. But with God.

Such godly perspective reminds us He’s in charge. We point our feet to His sovereignty, power, reign and rule.

No prince, principality, potentate or politician will ever subsume Him. Ever.

So here you go. Two more best reasons to walk with God now:

His power and joy. As we walked, to no surprise, Dan and I got to laughing. You know that feeling. Despite life’s pain and hardness, when we let go, we still can find joy—confident and grateful, despite everything—that we’re still living it.

It’s part surrender. Part common sense. Part realizing that Jesus really meant it when he said he came to give us life—life to the full (John 10:10). Laughter included.

So finally–one last best reason to walk with God now:

His great courage. Times like these call for bravery. For speaking out, standing up, walking tall, taking on battles. But also doing right.  During an argument with a Facebook stranger, of all things, I got ugly quick. Then pulled back. I apologize, I typed. Impossible? Only with God’s power.

Add it all up and what do we get? His amazing love. For all of us.

In old-school style, Stevie Wonder said it like this: Many of us feel we walk alone without a friend/Never communicating with the one who lives within.

Our part of the deal? To reach back and love this world anyway. Especially when it doesn’t love us. But first, go for a walk. Then as we go? Our God leads.

Patricia Raybon is an award-winning author of books and essays on mountain-moving faith.

For more inspiration, check out her pocket-sized devotional, Beautiful Blessings from God. Or consider the full-size version, covering the entire year—the One Year® God’s Great Blessings Devotional

To travel along on Patricia’s faith Journey, please click here.

(All Scriptures quoted, unless noted otherwise, are the New Living Translation of the Holy Bible.)

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