Walking with God: Going the Extra Mile

Walking with God is walking in His steps. Many things may occur when we choose to walk with Him: the storms of life may blow, the path may look slippery, there may be mountains to climb, rivers to swim through or fires to pass through. But as we allow Him set the pace while we follow, we are assured that He will not abandon us or let us be swallowed by the rivers, storms or fires of life. Hebrews 13: 5b – 6.

Walking with God is allowing His will overshadow our own. It is allowing the life of Christ to rub off on us. Whatever will we had before our salvation is surrendered to Him so that He can increase while we decrease; the self in us – our will or ego must decrease for His will to come to pass.

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭2:20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Walking with God means not only following the One who knows the way but following the one and only true way. He is the way. John 14: 6.

Walking with Him takes us away from the falsehood and wickedness in which our world thrives and places us on the path of truth. John 8:32, 36. It is total translation from the kingdom of darkness into that of His marvellous light. Psalm 27: 1 – 5.

Walking with God marks total deliverance from sin and slavery and makes us heirs and joint heirs with the Son. It is absolute empowerment, total enrichment and victory par excellence. Revelations 12: 11.

“For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.””

Romans‬ ‭8:15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

While Jesus was on earth, several categories of people followed Him. They are:

1. The Prosecutors and Judges: These are the Jewish Pharisees and Sadducees. They desired to hold Him to ransom by the words of His mouth. John 8: 1 – 11. They set snares but are, at the end, caught by their snares, ever learning but never able to come to the point of knowing the truth.
2. The Accusers or Critics: They are available to criticize His work. These ones saw nothing good about Jesus and could never get any benefit from Him. They accused Him of healing with the power of Beelzebub. They questioned His authority when He healed on a Sabbath. John 6: 1 – 11
3. The Selfish and Greedy: These people desired to make Him King in order to take care of their stomach. John 6: 25 – 27. They go for the highest bidder. They are parasites; always seen where the pasture is green. They move from church to church on Sundays and are always newcomers. Once free gifts stop flowing or another organization or church gives something bigger, they leave. They are rootless and never committed to anything.
4. The Disciples or True Followers: These people walk with God to listen to His word, be discipled, taught and mentored by him. They are willing to be pruned and are ready to grow and surrender themselves for service. Luke 5: 1, 8 – 11, Job 23: 10 – 12.

Disciples are “people who are never afraid to be taken to the ‘quarry’ where all the impurities in their lives are set on fire for them to come forth as gold.”

Gbile Akanni

It is said that two cannot walk together except they be agreed. Amos 3:3. We therefore need to decide whether we are willing to walk with God and go the extra mile or only honour and serve Him when He meets our needs.

“Gather My saints together to Me, Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭50:5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

We are in a critical time; it is a time when the faith of many waxes cold due to one excuse or the other. We really need to make up our minds now on whether this God is worth following or not. Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, has gone ahead of us. He is our high priest. We are to follow in His steps. Following Jesus is not by force, it must be done willingly.

As we walk with Him, we must bear in mind that He dictates the terms of the agreement in His bid to influence our lives in a positive manner. We must therefore, enter into this covenant agreement with Him to do His will as long as the journey of life lasts.