Christianity – A Joyful Walk with God!
By Thomas R. Dohling
“Make a joyful
noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve
the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that
the
LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his
people, and
the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his
courts
with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the LORD is good;
his
steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all
generations” (Psalm
100).
I am eager to discuss Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, who loved us and died for us so that we may be saved from sin (and self). God has made us to sit in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6)!
There were many doubts in
my mind because life has been
harsh and hard and difficult. However, thanks be to God Who has been my
Shepherd (my everything) and has brought me to a place where I am
learning to
trust Him. He is teaching me many things as I walk with Him and talk to
Him and
seek His will, daily. The key is trusting
God. Carefully consider the following from
Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
See the contrast! How cursed is the man who trusts in man (including in himself) and departs from God! How barren and empty his life is! How blessed is the man who trusts in God! How full to overflowing!
When we trust God, we tell Him everything (we even share our weaknesses with Him—the bad things about ourselves—bad thoughts, lusts, fears, desires, etc.) and look to Him to work things out in our lives. He is eager to do so and He will because He is faithful and also because He is Love! Consider how He has loved us in that “He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). He wants to save us so that we may have an abundant (spiritual) life that is of better quality than the life in the flesh.
I now understand that
Christianity is “walking with
God, in the Lord Jesus Christ.” Thereby we know God from
experience! This is
much more exciting, thrilling and fulfilling than knowing about Him. As
someone
has said: “The Bible is evidence about God. We need to be
rooted and grounded
in love and God is love”
(1
Consider Paul’s
prayer for the Christians in
“that according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
He prays that God may grant them (Christians at Ephesus) strength through His Spirit in the inward man that Christ may dwell in their hearts (the inward man) through faith so that they, being rooted and grounded in love, may be strengthened to comprehend (realize) the enormous dimensions of Christ’s love for them that surpasses knowledge (can’t be fully comprehended, just realized wordlessly, wondrously and humbly enjoyed) and thereby be filled with all the fullness of God Who is able to do exceeding abundantly more that we ask or think.
Each day that we consciously walk with God, allowing His will to be done in our lives, we know Him that much better (from experience). Theology is theories and hypotheses about God. We don’t dwell on theories and hypotheses, we know from experience Who God is, and just when we think we know Him, He does something unexpected, something startling and strikes us with awe and makes us realize that we don’t really, fully know Him. He shows us that He is far above human theories and hypotheses about Him! God Himself has said: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).
Just walk with Him daily, (talk to) commune with Him with each breath that you take and trust Him to do the best for you and you will know Who He is—not everything, but what He chooses to disclose to you! Abide in His presence. There is more to life that the physical—God has made us in His image and given us the ability to know Him in a wordless way, in the inner man, deep within our souls. That is the individual’s experience of God for himself. No one can explain it to you. It is between God and you. It will be a dynamic experience, an adventure! Remember to read and meditate on His Word (by reading the Bible, the evidence about God) and enjoy your wonderful walk with God on this earth until the time that He calls you all the way to His home to be with Him always! Yes, through thick and through thin, over the mountains (high points in life) and the valleys (low points in life), He will encompass you by His love and carry you in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His own name (because He wants to), if you will only allow Him! Enjoy life with God, Who desires to be your Father, and Jesus Christ, “the radiance of God’s glory!” (Hebrews 1:3), Who leads (and helps you) by His Spirit through His Word.
As our Father, God loves to surprise us! Being Love, He seeks our good and loves to see us happy as we walk with Him, seeking His will. Oh, there are sad days, and there are dreary days; but we learn from walking with Him that these are to be expected on this earth. Through these difficult times and circumstances, we learn that God is our support, our comfort, our Rock and that He is faithful and that we need to trust Him. However, in our Father’s house things are totally different! There’s no sorrow there, no tears, no pain. Only worship, and praise, and joy and happiness as we behold Him in His glory, His goodness. What a Wonderful God we have!
To God
be
the glory now and always, in Christ Jesus our Lord! Amen.