Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name.–Psalm 86:11
On February 1st, I decided to start a walking program. I made a commitment to walk every day for 30 minutes. After about three weeks, I found that I enjoyed it so much that half an hour was not enough. Before long, I decided to increase it to 3 miles a day…before work! And then, I decided to double that and go for another hour after school. I was now up to 6 miles a day–way beyond my first goal!
I learned so many lessons along the way. One of the first was that when I started out, I didn’t know if I’d be able to stick to my daily schedule. I just didn’t know if I could really do it. I had great intentions but I had no way of knowing for sure if it would last. Would I lose my motivation? Would I quit when it got tough? Would I skip days whenever it was convenient?
This taught me that even though I had started on the right path, I’d have to keep on recommitting every single day in order to follow through on my new walking routine. There were so many days that I just wanted to give up. I found that I wanted to say, “I’ve had enough.” It would have been so easy to slip into my, “old,” way of doing things. But I had made a commitment. I was going to stick to it no matter what!
And this parallels precisely with what God asks of me daily. He wants me to recommit my life and every single corner of it to him anew with the cracking of each new dawn. He wants me trust him with that unknown day–and not feel comfortable resorting to a past that’s predictable and boring. Learning to walk with God is not natural–it will take every fiber of my being because my flesh likes it when things are easy and “safe.” But there’s no change or revival or hunger for more of God in that old place. I need to travel a new path. I need to experience His goodness and love in a fresh way. I need Him to teach me how to walk today–and the day after that–and the one after that one, too.
Father God: It’s a great experience getting to learn from You. May my heart be ready to trust You even when I feel weak, inadequate and unsure. I know that You will lead me into Your ways. Give me a heart that listens to Your truth and is completely devoted to respecting Your holy name in all I say and do.
