Walk - Friday’s Fave Five

I believe that as we seek God, he drops a crumb trail of blessings to light our path for the journey—little nudges of delight and surprise, to spur us to continue on, to affirm that we are indeed on the right track.

I’ve caught him red-handed this week, leaving me gifts of love, pockets of joy, saying, “Keep on! I’m here and I love you!”

Walk

I chose it last week as the final theme for our summer ladies’ class. Even included homework: take a walk this week in silence and solitude—just you and God.

Little did I know all the crumbs I was about to find. God has intricately placed them all along the trail.

 

Here are 5 breadcrumbs he’s dropped this week to encourage my walk with him. (For more Friday Fave Five, visit Susanne’s site, Living to Tell the Story.)

1. The book
Wednesday at lunch, I grabbed a book to read from my too-long-neglected stack. The title? Walking with God by John Eldredge. How could I have forgotten I had checked out that book, randomly (?), from the library 3 weeks ago?

But as I jumped into the intro, now fully interested, I found it totally in sync with my lesson for that night. If only I had read it one week earlier, it would have saved me a lot of time and study on my own! Then again…time and study on my own might have been where God wanted me last week….

2. The lyrics 
Wednesday night, prior to class, our worship leader guided us into thoughts about God singing over us, and Jesus singing among us. Then together we sang, “How Can I Keep From Singing.” When we got to these lyrics, I felt another nudge from the Father.

3. The memory
After class, my co-conspirators in planning worship classes recalled a theme I had suggested over a year ago but hadn’t brought up since, for a potential upcoming series. About? Walking with Jesus.

4. The meme 
Thursday night, I finally clicked on a website, “A Holy Experience,” that Brenda had recommended earlier.

What post was on the top page? “Walk with Him” Wednesday.

5. The e-devotional

This landed in my inbox last night while I slept. Coincidence? I don’t think so. So I scratched my original #5 for FFF, and added this one instead. Here’s the story Max Lucado wrote in “God Never Sends You Out Alone”:

God treats you the way one mother treated her young son, Timmy. She didn't like the thought of Timmy walking to his first-grade class unaccompanied. But he was too grown-up to be seen with his mother. "Besides," he explained, "I can walk with a friend." So she did her best to stay calm, quoting the Twenty-third Psalm to him every morning: "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life..."

One school day she came up with an idea. She asked a neighbor to follow Timmy to school in the mornings, staying at a distance, lest he notice her. The neighbor was happy to oblige. She took her toddler on morning walks anyway.

After several days Timmy's friend noticed the lady and the child.

"Do you know who that woman is who follows us to school?"

"Sure," Timmy answered. "That's Shirley Goodnest and her daughter Marcy."

"Who?"

"My mom reads about them every day in the Twenty-third Psalm. She says, 'Shirley Goodnest and Marcy shall follow me all the days of my life.' Guess I'll have to get used to them."

You will too. God never sends you out alone. Are you on the eve of change? Do you find yourself looking into a new chapter? Is the foliage of your world showing signs of a new season? Heaven's message for you is clear: when everything else changes, God presence never does. You journey in the company of the Holy Spirit, who "will teach you and will remind you of everything I have told you" (John 14:26 NLT).

* * * * *

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. Isaiah 30:21

Are you trying to tell me something, Lord? I’m listening. My shoes are laced and tied. Let’s go for that walk.