Walking With The King

I need Jesus. I have made up my mind that I will not live this life without Him. I’ve been there, and I’ve done that. And all I can say is that now, I can breathe; I can rest; I am free. He has taken me from living in mental bondage, to living in the freedom of His will for my life. I know that statement sounds crazy, because this world is twisted like that. We live in the perception that a relationship with Jesus leads to bondage, and walking in our own way leads to freedom. But these very lies of this world are what lead us towards death, and away from the life that He has for us. I can attest to the fact that true freedom can only be found in the One that created us. He is the only one that can reveal the meaning of our lives. He is the only one that can take us from a place of darkness, and give us a life of light.

Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32 NLT)

Jesus is the truth, and He is the only one that can set us free.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6 NKJV)

I was living in a cage of depression and anxiety, and not for any apparent reason. I just felt broken; I felt hopeless; I felt weighed down. And all I wanted was to be made whole. I believed that there was more for me, that there was a life of joy in store for me. But I had no idea how to break out of the place that I had been in for so long. I had no idea how to switch gears. But, I knew the One that was said to set the captives free. So, I turned to what I knew. I turned to my Savior. Yes, prior to this, I knew Him. I knew that He died on a cross to forgive me of my sins, but I had no idea that the cross was about so much more than that. I had no idea of the freedom that I could experience if I allowed the full weight of His sacrifice to overtake my life. I had no idea that He had a whole new life, already waiting for me.

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT)

If you have been in church any amount of time, odds are that you have heard this scripture. I know I did, growing up. But I guess I always thought it was just some abstract idea—this idea of receiving a new life. Because I gave my life to Jesus, but now what? Why am I still in the same place as before? Why do I feel the same? Nothing has changed. I can admit that this is more than disheartening. When we come to Christ, we expect a sudden overhaul of our lives. We expect the healing, and the blessing, almost immediately. But when things don’t go as expected, we question whether we’ve made the right decision to trust in Him. If this is you, if you are in the place where you have made the decision to turn to God, but, you are unsure if it is even worth it, I want to reassure you that it is. I want to reassure you that, regardless of what you are seeing now, He is leading you out of your current situation, into the place of freedom and blessing that He has for you.

The way to your promise is through the wilderness.

What is the wilderness? It is the direction that God takes us in when we say yes to His will for our lives. It is the distance between our Egypt—our place of bondage, pain, lack, or survival—and the promised land that He has prepared for us. Often times, this is a place of confusion, because we can’t reconcile our current circumstances with the vision that He has given us. Many times, the wilderness seems dark, because we can’t see the road up ahead. The wilderness is also known as a place where God positions us to depend on Him. It might feel like we lack everything, but He uses the wilderness to show us that He is all that we need.

The wilderness is not a destination, it is the pathway to the promises land.

This is what we must understand. Because if we miss this fact, we will fear the road we are on, instead of trusting in our deliverer. This is the place where He trains us and prepares us for the promise that He has for us. This is where He reveals Himself to us, so that we can know that He is our defender, sustainer, and provider. This is where God shows us how to depend on Him. And this is probably the most necessary part of our journey of walking with the King. How can we trust God to lead us, if we don’t understand that He knows what’s best? How can we hear His voice, if we aren’t trained to listen? How can we trust Him to provide for us, if we don’t know that He is a God that prepares the way? He is a good God. He will never throw us into a situation that we aren’t ready for. So as we turn to Him, we must remember that, regardless of what it looks like, He is always leading us in the direction of His will for our lives.

I did not know this, when I began my journey with Christ. I had no idea that the path to receiving healing would be through some of the darkest seasons of my life. I thought that He would immediately reach down and grab me out of the pit that I was in. But that’s not what happened. Instead, He got down in the pit with me. He comforted me…where I was. He sustained me…where I was. He showed me that I could have joy…where I was. And for that, I will always cherish Him. Because He is more than just my God. Now, He is my everything. He is the reason that I can stand here today, and live in joy and freedom, regardless of what is thrown my way. He has shown me that with Him by my side, I can do anything.

Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:11-13 NLT)

This famous passage of scripture was written by the Apostle Paul, a man who’s life was completely transformed by God. His story is one of the most astonishing in the New Testament. He was once known as a man that persecuted Christians, but by the grace of God, He was transformed into a man that was uniquely called by God to bring the Good New about Christ to the gentiles.

But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him to reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles... (Galatians 1:15-16 NLT)

Paul was completely dependent on God to walk in his purpose. He was not qualified; in fact, his past would have disqualified him. But God had other plans. In His sovereignty, he equipped Paul with everything that he needed to do what he was called to do. But the journey wasn’t easy. Paul had to learn to depend on God through lack; he had to learn to depend on God through suffering. How do we know this? Because in the passage from Philippians 4, he wrote that he knew how to survive and be content in any situation. He was saying that he didn’t always have enough, but through the grace of God, he had everything that he needed. Paul knew that with Christ, he could do anything. He knew that if he walked with the King, he would lack nothing.

Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him! Fear the Lord, you his godly people, for those who fear him will have all they need. Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing. (Psalms 34:8-10 NLT)

God transforms us in the wilderness.

This is where He renews our minds, and transforms us into who He’s called us to be. When He calls us, and we turn to Him, there is always a waiting season—a season of preparation. There is a season of Him purging the things that are weighing us down, so that He can grow in us the character that our promise requires. In these seasons, He tears down the mental strongholds that we’ve been carrying for years, so that He can show us how to think like Him. This is the only way that we can receive His vision for our lives. Our minds aren’t capable of holding the vision of God. The bible says that His thoughts are much higher than our thoughts, and His ways are far beyond our ways.

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. (Isaiah 55:8 NLT)

So when we turn to Him, and seek to walk in His will, we must understand that we have to go through a process of renewing first. We must allow Him to transform the way that we think.

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:2 NLT)

This was God’s intention for the Israelites. He didn’t lead them into the wilderness for them to stay there, He led them there to prepare their minds to enter into the promised land.

When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” (Exodus 13:17 NLT)

God knew that the Israelites weren’t ready to handle the responsibility of entering into the promised land. He knew that mentally, they could not handle it. Because although they were physically free from captivity, they were still mentally chained. In the wilderness, He sought to strengthen their minds, so that they could walk in the confidence of their God. He took them the longer route, so that they could gain the faith that they would need to fight for their promise. But they refused to partner with Him. And so, their lack of faith turned the pathway to the promised land into their final destination.

We must partner with God so that we can receive His promises.

God has already ordained His preferred will for our lives, but that does not mean that His preference will be our reality. He will never make us do anything. He is available, and His promises are available, be we must do our part. We must partner with Him.

We partner with God through faith.

All God asks is that we believe Him. He asks that we trust Him enough to walk according to the path that He has for us. We can’t see around the corner, and we don’t know what is on the other side of the mountain. But none of that matters, when we are walking with the King. We have the God of the universe on our side—leading us, providing for us, and fighting for us. He says, “Will you trust me enough to follow me? Will you trust me enough to follow me even when you can’t see where the road leads?”

I don’t know your story. I don’t know the vision that God has placed in your heart, or where you are now. But I do know the King. I do know the God that led me out of darkness. He is the same God that wants to do the same for you. He has a plan for you. He has a plan to lead you into a place of peace, joy, wholeness, and blessing that you have never see before. And I know, that as long as you stay focused on Him, He will lead the way. He will take you in the direction of His will for your life. The road might seem dark, you might feel lost, but we can never be lost when we are walking with the King. You can never be lost when you are with the One that knows everything. He will never leave your side; He will never turn His back on you; so keep your eyes towards Him. Make the decision that regardless of what it looks like, you will trust the God that knows what’s best. You will wait on Him, and you will see every promise that He has for your life.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you for walking with me, and for reminding me that you are always present with me, even when I feel alone. In those moments, I pray that you would strengthen me through your Holy Spirit, because He is my comforter; He is my help. He is my guide. I will trust the path that you have set before me. I know that regardless of what it looks like, you are doing what’s best for me, and you are leading me to the promise that you have for me. I trust that you will work everything out for my good. And I trust that along the way, you are renewing my mind, and transforming me into who you want me to be. I can’t wait to see what you have in store for me. But until then, I will wait on you. I will follow you; I will walk with you. I love you. In Jesus' name, amen.