walk with Me.

hi friends! welcome back to the blog:)

as the new year has begun, i've been thinking about my church's youth theme scripture, & i've discovered some cool things i want to share! it reads:

behold my spirit is upon you, wherefore all thy words will I justify; and the mountains shall flee before you, and the rivers shall turn from their course; and thou shalt abide in me, and I in you; therefore walk with me. (moses 6:34)

it's amazing what a perfect theme "walk with Me" is for my year ahead. i'm going to be walking a lot, and in many new places (new semester at college, fsy at college campuses across the country, traveling, and my mission!). what a grounding thought: wherever i am walking, i can walk with God!

what does "abide" really mean?

according to the definition, it means 1) to obey 2) to tolerate/have peace with 3) to remember/anchor... maybe to stay or be with

but also: from old english, abide can mean to wait, or go onwards... like God is saying wait with Me.

maybe it could look like having a prayer in your heart, like working towards your goals, or caring for others. maybe bringing your worries and struggles to the Lord, however often that may be (perhaps a lot).

i've found that when i abide in the Lord, however that looks like, i feel more content and fulfilled. "abiding" with my phone, food, even friends, is never enough. nothing will satisfy except God!

john 15: 4-5 // "abide in Me, and I in you. as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches." -Jesus

the context of this verse is also key to understand the message better. as emily belle freeman explains it, "when the Lord called enoch to journey through the land and testify of Him, enoch hesitated. he was just a lad, slow of speech. how could he walk that path in his condition? he was blinded by what was broken in him. the Lord’s answer to what hindered him was simple and immediate: “⁠walk with me.” like enoch, we must remember that the One who was bruised and broken for us will allow mortality to do its work in us, but He doesn’t ask us to face those challenges alone. no matter the heaviness of our story or the current course of our path, He will invite us to walk with Him." (full talk here)

my new testament professor also reminded me of this scripture: micah 6:8 // "what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?" 

walking with God is not a one-time decision, it is a choice we make over and over again. we might journey off another way, but even if we do, we can always recommit to walk with God again. in steven shumway's recent byu devotional, he talked about living with the simplicity and putting the most important things first. these things have been on my mind a lot lately as i try to walk with God, especially the point he made that prayer is work. we need to put effort into our prayers, not just speak them casually or without thought. that is something i want to work on.

we all walk different ways, speeds, and paths, but i hope that we can encourage each other as we try to walk with God. let me know your thoughts about this idea!

xoxo,

kate

p.s. new podcast episode coming out this week!! check it out on my podcast here