Walk The Walk....Follow Jesus

There is a song our family sang in 1975 when we were living on Clark Air Base in the Philippines. The chorus has stayed with me over the years.

Follow Jesus, I will follow Jesus

Anywhere He leads me I will follow...

Follow Jesus I will follow Jesus

Anywhere He leads I go

I have shared before that when I read or hear the same theme over and over again in a short period of time, I take notice. Yesterday morning we were reading Max Lucado's small book on Psalm 23 and it spoke about how God leads us as The Shepherd, but also how He follows us. Then we read the Daily Guideposts for that day and this Bible verse was written:

"Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, 'This is the way, walk in it'". Isaiah 30:21

I told Joel I have never thought much about Jesus "following "me as much as Him "leading" and me following. This verse has given me more insight into how God works in our lives.

On Sunday mornings Joel leaves the house by 6am, so I usually listen to a couple of TV services before getting out of bed. Today I heard Dr. Charles Stanley talk about walking with Jesus as Christians. I then turned to Joel Osteen's sermon and heard him say that God sometimes pushes us forward when He wants us to do His will and our steps are faltering. He had my attention as I heard once again the idea of walking with God...whether He is beside us, taking the lead, or following behind us as a shepherd guides his sheep. On my way downstairs I went onto the computer and read my Rest Ministries daily Bible promise verse: ....because those who are LED by the spirit of God are sons of God....... Romans 8:14

Later in the morning I read our Lutheran "Christ In Our Home" devotional that the ELCA publishes for all members...and ....yes, you guessed it! Today's reading spoke about us "following" Jesus. I started to giggle.....I could not believe all of the info I was getting on walking and following... Later yet I watched Saddleback Church and the preacher for this day spoke about connecting with God and becoming aware of God in our life at all times....I felt I had made it through this sermon at least without hearing anything on the subject at hand until he said...We need to walk with Jesus 24/7!

I knew Joel had a Executive Board meeting today that was going to be very stressful. Following God's will with this last call to a new congregation has been more than a little challenging. I felt strongly that he needed to hear what I was hearing to help prepare him for the meeting. I knew I could not call him and he never called me on Sunday mornings, so I prayed. I prayed that if God wanted me to share all this with Joel that He would nudge him to call me.....and yes, he called!.

Praying for God's will in our life can be daunting, but if we quietly listen, we will hear His voice guiding us. We may not be in a place of our own choosing, but if God has sent us there, we cannot go wrong. I would rather follow Jesus in the dark that go alone in the light! Isn't it amazing to know that God loves us so much, He sends us His peace and assurance in ways that meet our individual needs, and for those who may be suffering from a bit of brain fog, He might even send His message over and over again just in case it did not sink in the first time around!