Right Foot, Left Foot

 Over the years, inspirations for topics to share in the weekly Flat Tire Ministries Thoughts have come through numerous paths. A song on the radio, a part of the preacher's sermon on Sunday, a devotional thought, and many times topics to cover come out of a conversation with a friend, family member, or acquaintance. With over 450 weekly posts recorded, I can honestly say, I've never had a week that there wasn't a message to share. At times the ideas come three or four in rapid succession. At other times, a scripture or story from the Bible seems to weave itself perfectly into a situation I have recently encountered and thus spurred a message to share. For me, the most important part to understand is the topics and ensuing messages aren't mine, the pen and paper, (or in this case the keyboard and computer screen) are mine, but I depend on God to provide the words He wants to share. I am grateful that God allows me to be a scribe, and I pray that He will continue to use me as He pleases for as long as I can be of use to His purpose for the life He gave me to live! 

That being said, today's message is no exception. When the topic came to mind I wasn't really sure where it was going to head. My thoughts centered around things like: "You can go for a walk on your own",  or "You can walk in the same direction or the opposite direction, but whatever direction you are walking you should be walking with God." Soon after that, I had thoughts about Jesus walking in the Garden of Gethsemane, or back in Genesis how Adam and Eve disobeyed God and then heard God walking around the garden. I wasn't exactly sure what direction the message was headed, but then as He always does, God made it clear what He wanted me to share today. 

In one of my daily devotionals, the author shared that for us to grow in our relationship with God we must deepen our ability to trust and obey Him. The devotional went on to compare trusting and obeying to walking. Right foot step / trust, left foot step / obey. Trust and obey, right foot-left foot. To "walk" with God requires us to take that first step, then we can't just stop with one step, to walk with God we must continue that right foot-left foot succession. We take our first step in faith, we place our trust in God. As sinners, we must turn from our sins and take that first step towards God. We make the decision to trust God and seek forgiveness for our sins. Trust allows us to forgo self and submit all we are to God. But, it doesn't stop there. To walk with God requires progression. A step in the right direction is critical, but if we are going to be walking with God more than a step is required. 

That is where taking a step becomes a walk of faith. We must learn to obey God which requires us to take additional steps beyond trusting in Him. First step trust, second step obey. Right foot, left foot, right foot left foot, on and on we go, moving forward and not looking back. Trust and obey. So, how do we obey God? We have to listen, we have to learn, we have to seek, and we have to follow God in all we do if we are truly walking with God. Think about it this way, if you don't know the laws of the city, state, or country you live in, how will you ever know if what you are doing is legal or illegal? Or if you don't follow the directions on the recipe, how in the world do you expect the outcome of your cooking efforts to be successful? It is the same way with God's commands. We can't obey what we don't have knowledge of, so it just stands to reason that if we are going to trust God and obey God, then we have to seek what God wants us to do for His Kingdom. That is all part of the process, we can't trust and obey what we do not know or understand. We must commit to reading His word daily, praying without ceasing (I Thess. 5:17), and seeking His will in all we say and do. 

Is walking with God daily as easy as taking a stroll in the park? Nobody ever said it was easy, there are several paths that we must choose between throughout each day. Jesus shared this pedestrian warning in Matthew 7:13-14, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." The world offers a plethora of wide open paths we can choose to journey each day, but just as Jesus pointed out above, the vast majority of those roads lead to destruction. Addiction, dishonesty, unfaithfulness, or placing things in front of our relationship with God will all ultimately lead to destructive choices and quickly make walking with God a real challenge. Yet, when we place our faith in Christ who died for our sins and enlightens the path of His righteousness, we are assured that each step we take, right foot, left foot towards God's calling for the life He gave us to live, we will not walk alone. We can truly trust that God is in control and if we obey His commands and follow His instruction we will walk with God as we live out the life we have to live. Right foot/trust, left foot/obey!

Coach Carter