Walking With God

In the story in which Jesus visits Zacchaeus, Zacchaeus decides to give half of his possessions to the poor. And if he had extorted money from anyone, he would repay it fourfold. And then Jesus says “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:9-10). Zacchaeus was seen by Jesus. He had encountered the love of Jesus and that changed him.

We too seek love and appreciation. In our daily lives, we often seek this from other people.

We seek connection with others. I tried to connect with others in my own way. But I didn't really know how to do this, and that made me feel lost.

God had created Adam and Eve, and they walked with God in the cool of the evening in the Garden. That was God's intention – that we would know Him very closely. Since the Fall, we, as humanity, have lost this close contact with God. Throughout the Bible we see that God speaks to people.

God spoke to Elijah in a gentle silence after a great storm. In the silence, Elijah heard God's whisper. It was not during the fire from heaven that consumed the sacrifice.

I long to meet God every day, but there are times when I feel that God is very far away. I sometimes struggle with that. I am often so distracted by the things around me that I don't have the peace to meet God. We also experience in our daily lives that we seek connection with other people, but often we don't succeed because we are too busy with other things.

Jesus says, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). This reveals His divine identity and His intimate relationship with the Father. This shows that Jesus discussed everything with His Father.

Silence - that is something we long for too, to experience the closeness of God's love. We often fail. What do we do then? Do we give up, or do we carry on? Jesus says, ask, seek, and knock (Matthew 7:7-8). That demands something of us. In everyday life I also take action when I want something.

In Genesis 5:24 it says that Enoch walked with God. Another translation says, "Enoch lived in close communion with God." How do you do that? You do it by focusing on God all day long.

Keep God constantly in mind – when you wake up, when you are in the car, when you are enjoying yourself or when you need comfort. Walk with Him and tell Him everything that comes to mind. That is what God asks of you. Be honest about what is in your heart. If you lie awake at night, tell Him why. Because even then you can reflect on what God wants to teach you. That doesn't mean that everything will go smoothly. But if God walks beside you, you can lean on Him when you need to. You will not be shaken, because He is the one who holds you fast.