So Enoch’s life lasted 365 years. Enoch walked with God, then he was not there because God took him.     Genesis 5:4-5 HCSB

There are numerous passages in the Bible that describe someone walking with God. In 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles it speaks of the kings that walked with the Lord or walked in the ways of the Lord. I walk as much as I can. I try to walk at least 4-5 days each week.

I have had several walking partners over the years, and I can tell you that when you walk with someone on a regular basis, you form a bond. You enter into a close relationship. You share your daily struggles as well as your daily victories with that person. You suffer with them in the severe heat and humidity and in the freezing cold. You rejoice with them over a decrease in time or an increase in mileage.

The commitment to walk or exercise with a person is important, because you are committing a certain amount of your time each day to spend with that person in an effort to help the both of you become healthier both mentally and physically. Physical exercise has been shown to greatly improve mental health.

When we walk with God, this also goes a long way to improve our mental health. When we make a commitment to spend time with Him and talk with Him daily, we grow closer to Him with each passing day. It brings about an intimate personal relationship with our Lord and Savior.

My walking partner of over two years now is suffering from an injury which has her sidelined for a couple months. We still maintain regular contact. Just because one of us can’t walk doesn’t mean the other gives up on them, it just means we try to support them in their downtime. Last August I got COVID and couldn’t walk but I knew my friend was there for me. Even though we missed times walking, we were still in close communication.

The poem Footprints speaks of the times God carries us when we are unable to walk. He is there for us no matter what we may be going through. If you run or walk or do any type of exercise, you know that it requires commitment. You also know that it becomes addictive, and you suffer greatly when you can’t exercise.

When we walk with God and do the work He calls us to do, we want to serve Him. We want to be out there doing what we can to spread the gospel and spread His love. We don’t like being sidelined.

We also know that with any type of exercise it requires that first step. The first step is to commit to doing it. We must show up and be ready to go. Then we must continually press on and go further. We must work on improving by decreasing the time it takes or doing more reps in a workout or adding other exercises.

Walking with God is a lot like exercising. It builds our faith muscles. We know from Hebrews 11:6 that it is impossible to please God without faith. It also builds our endurance to help us through the hard times.

If you are exercising to improve your physical health, that’s great. But don’t let that stop you from walking with God. Give Him time each day. Commit to Him. Grow in Him and steadily increase your love for Him as you develop an even deeper relationship with Him. The more you get to know Him, the more you will love Him. The more you love Him the more you will trust in Him. The more you trust in Him, the more you will strive to obey Him. This brings us to that intimate relationship that we should have with our Lord and Savior.

It all begins with the commitment to walk with Him. So, start walking!

Have a great day!