Walk and wait

This is a new road beneath our feet.  Well, I should clarify that.  It is not a new road.  Nor is it new to my wife and me – in fact, it is the street on which her parents lived for a number of years.  But it is a new route for our daily walk today.  We needed a change of scenery.

Our daily walks have been one of the pluses of this time of isolation.  They are a delightful combination of exercise, conversation and observing.  We turn over the latest news while we make commentary on the neighborhood.

Honestly, in general, I find walking a bit tedious.  Alison’s companionship remedies that.  She also helps me to remember the purpose for our outings – our physical and mental health.

So, I make an immediate connection to Isaiah 26:7-8 when I read it:

The path of the righteous is level;
    you, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth.
Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws,
    we wait for you;
your name and renown
    are the desire of our hearts.

While we walk, we wait.  What a fascinating, rich truth.  God has prepared the road – his law, his word – and as we progress through life on that path, we wait for the Lord to reveal himself to us.  We are not called to sit, ponder and expect.  We are to move forward, apply, and in the action, anticipate his meeting us on the road.

Jesus called to his disciples, “Follow me!”  On a literal level, it meant, drop everything and let’s go!  It also meant that every day, they would wait upon his words, often wrestling to understand, yet seeing application at every turn.

Isaiah reminds me of the reason for this walk of faith.  Your name and renown.  In my disconnected life right now, I could easily slide into the monotony of self-interest.  What do I want?  What should I do?  My devotions could be little more than spiritual self-maintenance: doing what I know is good for me.

But the path of righteousness doesn’t simply lead to a better me.  It unveils a clearer, more glorious understanding of God.  Jesus is not only my walking companion.  He is my final destination.

He is not walking with me on my path.  I am walking with him on his.

That’s the new road I need to wrap my heart around.

O Lord, it is true. I ask that it be with me as You say. Let your truth teach me. Let it guard me, and keep me safe to the end. Let it free me from all evil affection and badly ordered love, and I shall walk with You in great freedom of heart.   Thomas à Kempis

Reader:  How has Jesus met you on his road?