After twenty years, my wife and I finally found an exercise we enjoy doing together: walking with a weighted vest. It feels like the perfect activity for us. As we walk, our bodies resonate like two tuning forks, vibrating together. And our dog doesn’t mind the extra exercise either.
Walking feels so natural. In fact, I would argue that it’s the most ancient of exercises and the only one God himself has been doing since the beginning.
When you read the opening pages of the Bible, the first sign that something had gone wrong was that God showed up in the Garden of Eden for his morning walk “in the cool of the day” (Genesis 3:8), and Adam and Eve were absent.
They weren’t there because they were hiding, because they had run from God.
God’s immediate response was a gracious question to which he already knew the answer, “Where are you?” (verse 9).
God has continued to ask that question to all those he has created. He desires that all would turn to him in faith through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Throughout history, many have.
Something of Eden’s peace was reclaimed as early descendants of Adam, men in the Bible like Enoch and Noah, “walked with God.”
Then in the New Testament, Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee and invited a few fishermen to walk with him. Later, the apostle Paul implored followers of Jesus to “walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16); and because we have been made alive in the Spirit, we are told to “keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25).
So what does this mean for us today?
Well, we might take all this direction from the Scriptures literally. Maybe we actually begin to walk with God in prayer. The practice of a “prayer walk” gives my mind enough stimulation that I feel undistracted and focused on what the Lord might be saying to me.
Others might see this as a metaphor for life. Walking describes a pace of life that is unhurried yet productive. We are going somewhere with God, attempting to synchronize our steps with his leading. This might mean following the prompts of our conscience to see and love the people whom God has placed right in front of us. It might mean creating room to ask for God’s direction as we meet with a challenging coworker.
Finally, it is a picture of a return to paradise, a time when humans were in the presence of God, partnering with him to fill the earth, rule over it, and cause all his creation to flourish.
Outside of Eden, the best we can do is get a glimpse of what it might have felt like in those first days and what it will be like again after Jesus returns.
So until that day, let’s slow down enough to walk with God. Let’s take the time to meet with him in the “cool of the day.” Let’s quiet our hearts and minds so we might be guided by his divine wisdom. And when we find ourselves running from our Creator, I pray that we would hear his gracious invitation: Where are you?
Want more on the topic of walking with God? Check out Pastor Mike’s message: Confusing Things Christians Say: “Walk with God.”
