I have been walking more. I like walking. I run, but I don’t like running. Running is hard. I run in order to burn more calories in a shorter amount of time, but running, well, it’s not fun… but walking, I really like walking.
I like walking in my neighborhood. Three laps around my neighborhood gives me one mile. I’m not sure I get in three laps every day, but I try.
I like walking around the GENESIS Office Building. A few laps around that space gets me a mile as well.
For me, there is something about walking that slows me down. If my heart and mind have been racing, walking brings a sense of calm and peace. Walking not only slows me down, but it opens my eyes to see things that I’d otherwise miss if I were running.
Sometimes I walk and pray.
Sometimes I walk and think.
And sometimes I walk… that’s it, I just walk.
Not sure if you are a ‘walker’ but if not, you should begin. And I say that not because of the many health benefits of walking (which there are many), but because this is what God has called (invited) us to do.
In the coming weeks, via these devotional thoughts, I’d love to spend some time with you thinking about walking, namely, walking with God.
If you’ve been at GENESIS for at least 60 seconds, you’ve heard and hopefully felt that our heart is to do whatever we can to help as many people as we can walk with God. That is our heart for you, your friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, classmates and teammates.
For me, this is not some clever way to articulate the mission of GENESIS, rather, it’s how God presents His heart for us.
Here’s what I mean by that…
“When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden.”
Genesis 3:8 (NLT)
“Enoch lived 365 years, 24 walking in close fellowship with God.”
Genesis 3:24 (NLT)
"Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God.”
Genesis 6:9 (NLT)
“No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”
Micah 6:6-8 (NLT)
It would seem that walking is a primary way of knowing, experiencing and encountering God. And more importantly, it would seem that walking is the way that God wants (invites) us to know, experience, and encounter His Presence.
THREE MILES AN HOUR
That’s how fast humans walk. That being said, it would seem that the pace of God is three miles an hour. Meaning, if God calls us to walk with Him and we can’t walk much more than three miles an hour, well, God in His kindness has a pace of three miles an hour.
Life moves faster than three miles an hour… we all know and have experienced that reality. And when life is moving that fast it’s easy to conclude that we need to run, if not sprint just to keep up with the pace of life.
Life might move that fast, but please remember, the pace of God is three miles an hour. And despite the speed of life happening all around us, God calls (invites) us to walk with Him at His pace, which is really the pace He created us to walk at.
Again, over the coming weeks, we will explore walking with God through the many seasons of life we will have to navigate at His pace, but for today, I simply wanted to plant the seed…
THREE MILES AN HOUR
I don’t know ALL that you are walking (or running) through right now, but I do know this; God is calling (inviting) you to walk with Him at His pace… which is three miles an hour.
For today, as best you can, slow down and go for a walk and ask the LORD to help you walk with Him at His pace which is…
THREE MILES AN HOUR
