For several decades we have heard physicians, nutritionists, physical therapists and even the neighborhood yoga instructor telling us that America is getting too fat. One of the remedies they suggest involves turning off the TV, getting off the sofa and taking a walk. Pretty good advice, but walk where?
Every morning when I look out my windows I will see people walking. Some are walking with a companion, others with their dog and some by themselves. I imagine there are many reasons why these folks are walking each morning, but most likely a few are doing it upon advice of their physician. I know there are a few who take advantage of their morning walk to visit their neighbors. One gentleman, Rene, stops at my house if I am outside and we will spend 5 to ten minutes chatting. Same with my neighbor across the street. She lives by herself and enjoys talking with our neighbors out for their morning constitutional.
Now, I am not allergic to exercise. Due to time and circumstances I no longer have a sleek and svelte figure. Yet, when I was younger, well maybe much younger, I participated in many different sports. Additionally, I would run about 3 to 5 miles three times a week. However, those days are in my rear view mirror and I can no longer participate in those activities.
Two of the activities I enjoyed immensely was hiking and backpacking. Growing up where I did allowed me the opportunity to backpack up in the mountains or out in the desert. Thus, I do not find taking a hike around my neighborhood interesting. The scenery just doesn’t enthuse me too much. In fact, I don’t think the scenery changes at all. I suppose you could say I was rather spoiled by the scenery where I grew up. I lived up in the ‘Heights’ which basically means I lived in the hills surrounding the LA basin. This provided easy access to a changing scenery of mountains, ocean and desert.
Yes, I do believe that getting up off the couch is a very healthy thing to do. Walking the trails in the mountains or desert was very peaceful. Living in the suburbs around LA could get a bit jarring at times with all the noise, busyness and smog. Going up to the mountains or out in the desert provided a peaceful environment. There are very few people in the back country to bother you. The only noise was the sighing wind, the twitter of the birds and the sound of your shoes scraping along the dirt pathway.
The other thing I really enjoyed while in the back-country was the night. There were no city lights, street lights, or porch lights to block out the stars. We would throw our sleeping bag or blankets on the ground and lay down so we could take in the grand show of the Milky Way. At times it seemed like we could literally reach our hand out and touch the stars!
So, yes I agree with all the pundits that say we should get off our couch and take a walk. I cannot dispute that it is good exercise and a more heart healthy endeavor. I also believe it is a very good exercise for your mind. Being out in nature and away from your busy life gives your mind a break and decreases the likelihood of depression.
More importantly, getting out of the city and away from the maddening crowds will give you a more peaceful environment to commune with God. All those trails I walked. All the birds I saw flying and singing. The animals crashing through the brush to escape the human interlopers. And all the nights I stared up at the stars reinforced to me how great God is. Therefore, you could say that walking is also a very good spiritual exercise too.
It is a fact that each person’s walk with God is unique. No two people have the same relationship with God. My walk with God has probably been enhanced by my advantage of frequent forays into nature and a curious mind that requires me to dig into the nitty-gritty of theology the result of which only reinforces my commitment to God and a deeper relationship.
So, let us talk a bit about our Walk with God. How our relationship and commitment to him can continue to grow and why that is so important.
Turn with me in your Bible to Isaiah 40: 31, “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
To put this verse in context, it was written when the Hebrews were in captivity. Isaiah is encouraging them to place their trust in the Lord, to put their hope and confidence in Him. Isaiah was telling the Hebrews that the Lord will deliver them from bondage. They will be free to return home.
This verse is applicable to us today. To have a real relationship with God we must commit ourselves to him fully and completely. We too are in bondage, bondage to sin. If we put our faith and trust in Him he will deliver us from sin. There can be no doubt or hesitation in our trust, faith and commitment.
Yet, all to often doubt creeps into our thinking. All too often someone who appears to be a devout Christian has secret doubts. You know the type I am talking about: the person that says: “Yes, but...”
Where does this hesitation come from? Is it a lack of faith or belief? Is it doubt about God? Or Christianity? Does it come from peer pressure?
Does it really matter where the doubt or hesitation originates? Maybe yes, maybe no. More importantly is the fact that the doubt exists which is tragic. It is this hesitation, this idea of Yes, but; that will prevent us from being in the presence of God.
I am amazed how some people can believe in the Bible and God, yet deny that God created man. Similarly, I have run into people who consider themselves Christian, yet don’t believe that Christ is divine and part of the Godhead. How can someone commit to a relationship with God if they have a similar disbelief?
To have a successful relationship, whether it is with God or a spouse, there must be trust, belief and love. These truisms must be by both individuals for a one-sided relationship will never last.
As we wait upon God, should we be an indolent and passive individual who is just sitting on their couch and literally waiting for God. Certainly not! We should be praying for guidance and strength. We should be studying the scriptures and absorbing the lessons to be found on each page.
Meanwhile, God will be working with us and for us. He will give us knowledge and understanding while we read the scriptures. He will be reviving, renewing and strengthening our faith in him. As water invigorates a wilting plant so does the Living Water from heaven invigorate our faith and belief in God.
Let us now turn to Psalms 139: 13 -16; It was you who formed my internal organs, fashioning me within my mother's womb.
Psa 139:14 I praise you, because you are fearful and wondrous! Your work is wonderful, and I am fully aware of it.
Psa 139:15 My frame was not hidden from you while I was being crafted in a hidden place, knit together in the depths of the earth.
Psa 139:16 Your eyes looked upon my embryo, and everything was recorded in your book. The days scheduled for my formation were inscribed, even though not one of them had come yet.”
As we go through life, one day at a time, the majority of people we come in contact with are stranger’s to us. At the gas station,
grocery store,
department store,
And restaurants. It is too much to expect us to know everyone by name, reputation or place of residence. Yet, God knows everything about them and us. There are no exceptions. God doesn’t need us to wear a name tag. We don’t have to show him our driver’s license or passport to prove our identity.
Unlike Mary and Joseph, we don’t have to go to the town we were born in to be properly identified and accounted for. No matter where we are, whether high up on a mountain top or down deep in the darkest reaches of the sea God will see us and know us. In fact, God will be there waiting on us.
Remember, it was God who sculpted us from the dirt and placed his lips on ours and breathed into us the breath of life. God knows us by name and face. He knows us intimately. We will never be a stranger to him!
Psalm 139 tells us in detail how personal and intimate David’s relationship was with God. It also tells us how personal and intimate our relationship with God can be if we only let ourselves believe. Remember, we are his greatest handiwork and that he is in every breath we take and is with us every minute of every day.
In the New Testament we see that nothing has changed regarding God’s desire for a relationship with man. Turn with me to Acts 17:27 ; “so that they might look for God, somehow reach for him, and find him. Of course, he is never far from any one of us.
Act 17:28 For we live, move, and exist because of him, as some of your own poets have said: 'For we are his children, too.”
Luke is telling us in Acts that when God created man, he made sure that mankind would seek out God. In other words he did not want us to feel bereft of contact or lonely. It is our natural inclination to find God, to establish a relationship with him, because it is only with God in our hearts and mind that we can feel complete and whole.
Revelation 4:11 says; “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory, honor, and power, because you created all things; they came into existence and were created because of your will."
John is telling us that we were created by God. It was because of his will and purpose that all things were created. God created us because he desired us to have a personal, intimate relationship with him.
Over the vast centuries of man’s existence he has acquired knowledge. Knowledge of nature, science and mechanics. Man has used this knowledge to make and build beautiful buildings and bridges. He has developed the technology to allow man to fly. He has split the atom and built horrible devices that kill and maim.
Yes, man has acquired much knowledge in the sciences and technology. With that power man has developed the means of communicating with others thousands of miles away. He’s developed the means for man to travel vast distances through the air and even into space. Man has even discovered the means to arrest disease with penicillin and other medications. And he has even found a way to alter and rearrange atoms. In short, man can make things out of materials that already exist, but he cannot and will not ever create life out of thin air.
Thus, we acknowledge that God is our creator. He is our defender and benefactor. We also acknowledge that he is not just a God that created us and that left us alone to see what happens as some people believe. No, he is a God that wants to be involved with us every day and every minute.
As we go through life we will experience many trials. When these trials come upon us we can do one of three things.
1) We can endure it. We put on a happy face with a very sickly looking smile and just let the winds of strife pummel us. We put up with the pain and suffering. In this scenario the trial overcomes any walls we might put up and subsequently let the trial become our master. Those individuals who succumb to the trial will become very bitter people. This is not what God wants for us.
2) We can try to escape. How can we escape you might ask? Some folks may try to escape like Jonah did. They will try to put distance between themselves and what troubles them. Others may try to escape through drugs and alcohol becoming oblivious to not only the trial, but life in general. They will wither and die eventually. By trying to escape they will miss the purpose of the trial which is to develop a stronger faith in God.
3) We can overcome it. By overcoming the trial we turn it into a mere annoyance. The trial will help us grow more confident in not only ourself, but also in our faith with God. We can use the trial to grow in our relationship with God. The trial will mold us into a more durable and stronger Christian. This is what God wants for us.
One day a young woman walked into a Book and Bible store to buy a present for her husband. She was having a difficult time deciding what would be a good gift so she went up to an employee to seek guidance. The employee trying to determine what we be the best book for her husband turned to her and asked, “Well, tell me about your husband. What kind of Christian is he?”
The young woman looked a bit flustered a moment then responded, “Oh . . . I don’t know . . . I guess he’s about average.”
Hopefully, none of us would ever be accused of being an average Christian. Yet, many people have been indoctrinated by TV, radio and social media that ‘average’ is good enough for Christians. I believe God expects us not to be average, but exceptional Christians.
Now that we have established how we were created and how much God is in our DNA let us now look at what it will take to have a successful and rewarding relationship with God.
1) We must believe with absolute certainty that God loves us and wants a relationship with us. God does not look down on humanity looking to condemn mankind. Neither does peer down with book in hand to scribe every wrong thing we do. God does not look at us like a stern father, but only as a compassionate parent. He wants to hold us close.
He wants us.
He desires us.
He calls to us.
In John 8:11 he asked the woman brought to him for accused of adultery, “where are your accusers?” She replied they were no longer there. Jesus replied, “neither do I accuse you.”
To Zacchaeus sitting in a tree, “Come down, I want to stay at your house tonight.” Luke 19:5.
In the book of Solomon, God compared his relationship with man as two lovers who are full of passion for each other. In the New Testament he calls mankind his bride.
God is in love with mankind, he would never forget us or ignore us. God is passionate for us, no matter how broken we are. No matter how tainted we are by sin. He wants to heal us and cleanse us so that we can be with him for eternity.
2) We must want to have a fruitful and binding relationship with God. God wants us to be passionate about a relationship with him. He does not look for perfect people, because . . . well. . . there are no perfect people. In the Gospels we see time after time Jesus seeking out the sinful, broken and imperfect people.
He knew that many of them had been ostracized and forgotten by society. He renewed in them hope and love. Many of them confessed how sinful they had been and accepted their ‘punishment.’
Jesus forgave them, even when they did not ask for it. He knew how honest they were with themselves and with him. They did not pretend. They did not make excuses or try to justify what they had done.
When they were forgiven they passionately turned their hearts towards God. And the next time they failed and sin, they quickly turned back to God.
Time after time in the Bible we read about these imperfect people turning towards God.
In Psalms 42: 1 we find David, who was a great warrior for God, but also a great sinner, write “As the deer pants for clear water, so my soul pants for you, O God.”
In Luke 8:43 we read about the woman who was ostracized for a bleeding disease. She dared to come to the city to touch Christ’s garment because she knew that he would heal her. Though she stretched out and only had finger touch his garment, Christ knew it was her faith that brought her to him. He immediately looked for her and told her that her faith had healed her.
3) Finally, we must be fully committed. To enter into this relationship with God with our heart and soul.
Have you ever gone to the beach and watched people go up to the water and just dip their toes in? Some people will only go into the water up to their knees and quickly turn and run up the beach as the waves come crashing in. They are afraid to get their whole body wet. I am just the opposite. I will walk into the water up to my thighs and then dive right into the first wave fully immersing my body. Too many people approach a relationship with God like the folks who are afraid to get more than their toes wet. People who are really afraid of taking a risk. People who are afraid of plunging into the wave and fully immersing themselves do not make very good Christians.
In the year 1520 a Spanish explorer by the name of Ferdinand Magellan led an expedition to sail around the world. As his small flotilla approached the tip of South America he came to the region which he named Tierra del Fuego, which means land of fire in English. He chose that name due to the many natives on shore who were tending large bonfires.
As the flotilla passed by close to land the natives chose to ignore the large sailing vessels just off shore. It was as if the ships did not exist.
When Magellan saw a suitable harbor where they could pull in he chose to do so. While they were in the harbor to refresh their drinking water he also sent some men to make contact with the natives. He discovered the natives ignored the vessels because they had never seen anything like them before. They believed they were unreal, an apparition and thus could not exist.
This story could be a metaphor for modern man. We see things around us in nature, whether on earth or up in the sky that point to God’s existence. Yet, many choose to ignore what their eyes are telling them. To some choosing to accept what their eyes are telling them means they will have to ignore what their peers, scientists and maybe their family had been telling them all these years. A mindset that has refused to accept the concept of God the Creator. Unfortunately, by refusing to accept the concept of God, it is as if God is sailing by and they think God is just an apparition, a fantasy.
One cannot have a meaningful relationship with a fantasy. Ignoring a relationship with God will leave in us an empty void in our heart and soul. This will result in a meaningless life with no purpose or joy.
To have a real, complete enduring relationship with God will require some effort. You will have to get off your couch and spend time studying and time on your knees with God.
You will have to face the trials and tribulations that come your way. Do not run away from them and do not let them overcome you. With God’s help you will overcome the trials and in doing so your faith will grow. And as your faith grows God will mold you, shape you into the Christian you will need to be.
God desires a deep and abiding relationship with each one of us. A relationship similar to one we have with our best friend. Even more so, a relationship similar to what a bride and her bridegroom have as they pledge their troth to each other on their wedding day.
Let me close this sermon with a suggestion:
Get off the couch and take a walk . . . with God. You will never regret it!
