TOTAL EXPERIENCE is a platform for having encounters with the Word of God. These encounters are the divine instruments through which our lives are enhanced and our future positively shaped. This week we shall continue on our series, EMPOWERED TO BE FRUITFUL. In the first part, we defined extensively what being fruitful is about. In the second part we shared basically, two keys on how we can enjoy the life of fruitfulness. We talked about catching a vision of the future and declaring that future you so desire. In the immediate past edition we began the discussion on the third key than can help you enjoy the life of fruitfulness, which is, WALKING WITH GOD. We have seen what it means to walk with God and how much of a blessing it can be to our fellowship with and work for God. However, it is important to state so quickly that walking with God is a process. This process has to be learnt and followed through thoroughly to attain and enjoy it’s benefits.
WHAT ARE THE AVENUES FOR DEVELOPING DEEPER WALK WITH GOD?
Walking with God is so crucial and fundamental that to miss it is to struggle so much in our Christian experience. Walking with God is not accidental or attained by chance and coincidence. It is a spiritual status not ascribed but achieved. It requires consecration and some specific, practical and deliberate steps to achieve. In this fourth edition, we will look at some disciplines that will accord us the opportunity and privilege to walk with God and grow consistently in the experience.
1. SEPARATE YOURSELF FROM THE CROWD.
The first step of walking with God is learning to stand alone or to separate yourself from the crowd. Your desire to walk with God must be strong enough that you are willing to sacrifice the comfort and company of people if and when need be. The Psalmist expresses the kind of longing that can help a seeker make this sacrifice of separation from the crowd to interact with and to encounter God. In PSALM 42:1-5, the Psalmist says “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God? When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.”
God longs for your company as His child. He wants to walk with you but that is not possible of you love the company of the crowd more than the longing to walk with God. God said to Moses, in EXODUS 34:1-4, Separate yourself from the crowd, come up ALONE to the top of the mountain of fellowship with two tablets of stone. “And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest. And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount. And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount. And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone.”
There is a lonely or rather alone path that Great people travel on consistently over time. Learn to withdraw yourself from the crowd.
Great men are not found everywhere, every time. There is a time to be with God in your closet. If you make this time happen more frequently and lavishly, then blessed are you for you will access the corridors of the Divine Presence and you can Walk with God.
2. STUDY HIS WORD.
Studying God’s Word connects you with the secrets of how and when and where to walk with God. Everything about God is contained in His word. The knowledge of God we possess will determine how productive and successful we will become. In DANIEL 11:32, the scripture says, “…but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.” The knowledge of God is the stamina you need to consistently walk with God. This knowledge is enhanced by the quality of your study of God’s Word.
3. FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD IN PRAYER.
Quality prayer fellowship with God will translate to quality walk with God. This was the lifestyle of our Master while on earth. In MARK 1:35, the Bible records, “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. Also in PSALM 91:1-3, it is revealed, “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.”
Friend, there is a path that launches you into the dwelling place of God. It is the lifestyle of prayers. Spend time with God daily. Fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Until you spend time in the secret place, you cannot make impact in the public.
4. ASSOCIATE RIGHTLY.
Out associations imparts our lives. This is why the quality of the association you keep is critical. If you don’t consciously Associate, you will be let with baggage of only people who will lead you nowhere to achieve nothing.
We can reduce the rigours of our journey by choosing to associate with people who have the advantage of being ahead of us in the experience of walking with God. The Bible records concerning Enoch, that he walked with God in GENESIS 5:24, “And Enoch walked with God: and he [was] not; for God took him.” His walk with God was his escape from the perils and corruption of the world. The great news is that we have the privilege of having some Enochs in our generation too. Men and women with proven track records and profiles of walking with God. You will do well to follow such examples.
Associate with mentors and fathers. Learn their disciplines. Walk in their Godly examples and you will also end up walking with God like they do. The Apostle Paul instructs us in 1 CORINTHIANS 11:1, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also [am] of Christ.” Then in PHILIPPIANS 3:17, he charges us, “Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.” Conclusively, the Preacher says in PROVERBS 13:20, “He that walketh with wise [men] shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” Let us connect and follow the footstep of fathers and Mentors who have been where we’re headed. Walking with God is one of the secrets for enjoying maximum fruitfulness. You cannot walk with God and end a failure in life. Decide to walk with God today.
DECISION TIME
The best gift of life is time. The best gift of time is now. The best use of now is the decision to secure and prepare for eternity. If you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, please don’t let this moment pass you. You’re just a decision away from a secured eternity. You can pray this prayer to surrender to Jesus: “Lord Jesus, I believe you died for me. I accept you into my life as my Saviour and Lord. Forgive my sins and give me power to live for you the rest of my life on earth”. Amen.Congratulations! If you have prayed this prayer, you are now born again. You can contact us to let us know about your decision or visit us at the address above to learn more on how to grow in your Christian life. God bless you.