Walking With God

(Brother Zack M. Guess)

I have been asked to share some of my experiences with trying to maintain a close walk with God. As we all know, it is difficult to maintain a close walk with our Lord in this extremely fast-paced age in which we live. We must put forth a conscious effort if we are going to have any success in this worthy endeavor. It is encouraging to know that there have been many saints down through the ages that have maintained consistent close fellowship with God in difficult circumstances. One that readily comes to mind is Enoch. We know from a reading of Jude 14, 15 that he lived in an age that was given over to extreme ungodliness. Nevertheless, we read in Genesis 5:22 that “Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years…” We also know from Hebrews 11 that he did this by faith. Every child of God has faith and can rely on the promise we find in 1 John 5:4 that all those who are “born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”

It is good to have special times when we can get away and spend some extended time with God. Our Lord Jesus set the example in this. It is recorded of Him in Luke 6:12 “that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.” One another occasion He said to His disciples “Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while…” (Mark 6:31). One of the things I love to do is to walk. I try to go to a lovely golf course that is in a beautiful neighborhood and spend an hour or two at a time in this pleasant environment. Sometimes when I arrive at this place I am very cold spiritually. I usually carry a portion of Scripture with me to memorize and meditate on. I carry copies of some songs of praise also. Sometimes I carry lists of people and things to pray for. Almost every time I have done this I have been blessed to have some wonderful times of fellowship with my dear Lord. I may have to stay at it for a while, but eventually my heart is drawn out in supplication and in praise. I sing to my Lord. I rejoice in portions of His Word that He makes fresh to my soul. I sometimes get so lifted up that I dread having to go back to my duties. I am reminded at times of the song “I Come to the Garden Alone.” It is true that there are times that His voice is so sweet the birds seem to hush their singing!

However, it is not always possible to spend these extended times with our Lord. Walking with God is kind of like saving money. Most of us are tempted to not save any if we cannot save a considerable amount at one time. This is a mistake. If we would just save our nickels and dimes, we would be surprised at how this would add up. We need to save our nickels and dimes of time with the Lord. I try to do that. I try to make it a constant practice to always have some Scriptures with me. I have found out that when we make things convenient we are more likely to take advantage of our various circumstances. If I have the Scriptures with me I can spend time memorizing and meditating in all sorts of circumstances. Some of the places I try to save my “nickels and dimes” of time with the Lord is when I am in line at the bank, when I am stopped at a traffic light, when I have to wait on someone who is late for an appointment, etc.

There is nothing like memorizing and meditating on God’s Word and on good songs of praise to help maintain fellowship with God. Over the years I have been blessed to memorize about eight complete books of the New Testament, many other chapters of other books, several chapters from the Old Testament, about eleven psalms, and many other verses from both the Old and New Testaments. I have also memorized many of the glorious songs of Zion. I would rather have this treasure in my mind than all the material wealth this world has to offer! When the blessed Holy Spirit is pleased to make His Word real to my soul, as He often graciously does, I believe I am experiencing a little foretaste of Heaven.