Little Walks With the One I Love! (1/21/15)

My husband and I sometimes take walks together. Quite often we have the dogs with us. Our goal is simply a little bit of exercise and time together. When we reach the end of our street we do not have a specific destination in mind. We may turn left or we may turn right. Since our neighborhood is a collection of cul-de-sacs, we may choose to wander through one or more of them, or we may choose to just follow the main road. We may also choose to get off the road altogether and walk around the grassy areas that include two ponds. Sometimes we leave our neighborhood all together and drive to a park or walk along Lake Michigan. The purpose of these walks is simply time together.

This time together does not have to have a significant purpose. It is a time when we can talk about the day’s events. We can share hopes and dreams for the future. And often we can just laugh and appreciate the little things of life and each other. This casual time together always brings refreshment to us.

In my last post (January 18, 2015) I spoke about getting off the treadmill and beginning to walk with true purpose under the leading of the Holy Spirit. This is a long, directed walk with God. It is the path that our lives take. We travel down this road a little bit every day for our entire life. Along this path we will also have opportunities to take little side trips. These can be aimless with no real direction in mind. It is simply a walk for enjoyment and companionship.

The Lord also loves spending time together with His children. Just as a dad comes home and plays with his little ones, God wants to just spend time with us. “For [the Spirit which] you have now received [is] not a spirit of slavery to put you once more in bondage to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption [the Spirit producing sonship] in [the bliss of] which we cry, Abba (Father)! Father!”  (Romans 8:15 AMP) Abba means daddy. Do we cry out, “Daddy! Daddy!” when we have an opportunity to spend time with our Heavenly Father?

Christ, our bridegroom, desires to spend time alone with us. The Song of Solomon contains the musings of a bride concerning her love. “My beloved speaks and says to me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.” (Song of Solomon 2:10 AMP) She is excited and wants only for time to hurry until they can be together. Is this our response to setting aside time to spend with Jesus? Are we excitedly anticipating the presence of God?

Making a priority to spend some time to just hang out with God will cause these times to occur more frequently. These times of God can be spontaneous. It can be merely a few minutes in the middle of our busy schedule. It can also be a sudden change of plans that would allow more time alone with God. Scheduling these times apart is also important. Scheduling times to simply enjoy God’s presence will enhance everything else in life.

It is the desire of the Lord to share His heart with us. “And I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, Who calls you by your name.”

(Isaiah 45:3 AMP) Isn’t it amazing that He calls us each by name? No matter how long we have walked with God there’s still more things He wishes to share with us. “Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, fenced in and hidden, which you do not know (do not distinguish and recognize, have knowledge of and understand).” (Jeremiah 33:3 AMP) In all things and at all times God desires to express His love to us. “The Lord appeared from of old to me [Israel], saying, Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn you and continued My faithfulness to you.” (Jeremiah 31:3b AMP)

If time passes and David and I have not had our walks or other times to just talk, we can really feel the effects relationship. We need that time to set aside the business of life and just hang out together. The same is true when we neglect our times with God. In addition to communication concerning the pressing issues of our lives, we need to spend time sharing secrets and just hanging out with our heavenly Father. We cannot neglect these times for they will refresh our souls. “…that times of refreshing (of recovering from the effects of heat, of  reviving with fresh air) may come from the presence of the Lord;” (Acts 3:19b AMP)

Take a little stroll with God today. Share your hopes and dreams and simply walk hand-in-hand with the one you love. He is calling to you, “Come away with Me!”