The Heart of a Walker

The previous teaching described the Christian gardener—the child of God who is focused on the doing of things for God.

Opposite to the gardener’s heart is the Christian who walks with God. This child of God places his relationship with God above everything else. His primary focus is not on his gifts, talents, ministry, work, family, or anything else.

The one who walks with God understands and fulfills the reason for his existence—to walk with God. Everything else is simply the fruit from that relationship.

Who are the Walkers?

We all know Christians—we might be one of them—who have perfected “Christianese”. They say and do all the right things, yet year after year, their character does not change. They simply function within the acceptable behavior boundaries, but they do not have an active, living, working personal relationship with God.

There are many walkers among us today, but they are not recognized as such by many Christians. Many of us are too busy with the things of God or the things of this life to even notice those who among us actually walk with God as God intended.

We often assume that the minister with a large following and a powerful anointing walks with God. That can certainly be true, but there are also ministers with a large following and a powerful anointing that actually have a much, much smaller ministry than God called them to because they are not walking with Him.

The walker can be anyone.

The walker can be the preacher who leads millions to Christ.

The walker can be the late-shift custodian who attends church but is not involved with any of the functions with her church and who very few people know. She spends hours each day in God’s presence. Her existence on earth is given to prayer, worship, fasting, and talking with God. And she could be walking closer with God than nearly every Christian alive.

The walker is not known by his adherence to his denomination’s statement of beliefs. The walker is not known by his affiliation with a particular ministry.

The person who walks with God is known by his relationship with God.

The walker’s heart is always soft and tender before the Lord.

The walker is in a constant state of changing—growing into the image of Jesus Christ.

“How can I become a Walker?”

Jesus is our example.

Something very significant happened when John baptized Jesus:

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16, 17)

(Pleasing God is the same as walking with God. Enoch walked with God (Genesis 5:24) and Hebrews 11:5 clarifies this by stating that Enoch pleased God.)

Notice that this was before Jesus was tempted by Satan, before He healed anyone, before He preached, before He cast out demons, before He performed any miracles, before He worked the works of God—before He entered into His three-year earthly ministry.

This is important to understand: it is not operating in our ministry, our talents, our gifts, our calling that pleases God. Jesus pleased God during His childhood and during His job as a carpenter.

If you are walking with God, He will reveal Himself to you. And He will also reveal to you your spiritual condition. John addressed the book of Revelation—the revelation of Jesus Christ—to the seven churches in Asia. But before John gets going with the revelation, Jesus reveals the spiritual state of those churches. Expect to see yourself as God sees you (the good, the bad, and the ugly) before and as He reveals Himself to you.

So, what was it that Jesus did that pleased Father so much that He spoke audibly, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”?

What is the key that we need in our lives that enables us to please God?

The key to Walking with God

Some might say that walking with God is exercising your faith because without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). This is true, but having faith doesn’t mean that you are pleasing God. 1 Corinthians 13:2 says that if we have faith to move mountains yet don’t have love, we are nothing. Nothings do not please God.

Some might say that praising and worshipping God enables one to walk with God because God inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3). Here’s something heavy to consider: Satan once worshipped God (Ezekiel 28).

The key is found in these three passages:

Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. (John 5:19–20a)

Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. (Matthew 22:37–38)

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:1–3)

The key is obedience motivated by love.

Father was well pleased with His Son because Jesus did only what He saw Father doing.

It’s wonderful to think that we can please God (walk with God) as Enoch did and as Jesus did no matter what we do for a living. Jesus built things from wood and although we do not know all that Enoch did, we do know that he walked with God and that he was a writer, recording what God revealed to him.

We need to understand that Father is looking for those that are willing to walk with Him. He is looking for those that are not interested in building their own little kingdom and those that are not rushing around with “Things to do for God” lists.

Father’s greatest desire is that we walk with Him as Enoch and Jesus did. And our greatest desire should be to walk with Father.

It is my prayer for you that Father will continue to help you to hear His voice, and more and more frequently.

With God’s grace and in His peace,

Gary

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