Walk by Faith part 4
I think a big part of walking by faith is... well... walking. If God is always moving, always leading us and guiding us--as a pillar of fire at night and a pillar of smoke during the day--then it seems to me that He doesn't want us to stay still. In fact, that's why God directed Moses to build Him a tabernacle; it could be taken apart and moved. Now, on this side of the cross, WE are the tabernacle of God. WE are the temple of the Holy Ghost. Now He lives in US. But I think the principle of moving remains. A line from one of my favorite songs says, "Tell me should I stay here, or do I need to move..." There are times and seasons for everything. It came to pass not to stay. That's why it's so important to have eyes to see and ears to hear. So important to be led of the Spirit. So important to WALK in the Spirit. And, again, I'm not saying "walk it out." Because to walk something out, in our own strength, is doomed to failure. Jesus doesn't want us to take what He's given us and walk it out. "Are ye so follish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?" (Galatians 3:3). Of course not. And, remember, we're not walking in order to get somewhere. We've already arrived. We're walking to explore the Promised Land that we're already in! When God promised the land to Abram, He said, "Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee" (Genesis 13:17). This is the first time the word "walk" is used in the King James Version of the Bible. And if you put any stock in the law of first mention it tells us a great deal about the nature of the word. When God told Abram to walk through the land He was telling Abram to EXPLORE the land. It's the same, almost to the exact phrasing, as Ephesians 3:16-19, "That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God." Explore the land, for I shall give it to you. Walk around. Test it out. See what's there. Explore His love, for He gave it to us. He gave HIMSELF to us. Test it out. Use it. Enjoy it. Share it. And let me say this: We KNOW the love of Christ, which passesth knowledge, because it's NOT head knowledge. It's heart knowledge. It's experiential knowledge. Remember, a man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument. It's one thing to know something... and another to KNOW it. To have walked in it. And that's what walking by faith is all about: Trusting that God has not only made a way for us (He IS the Way) but that He is leading and guiding us on the way. A voice from behind tells us, "This is the way, walk ye in it," if we turn to the right or the left. He keeps us on the path. He keeps us from falling. He doesn't punish, but He chastens and corrects. He moves... and we move with Him, because He is moving... in us!