One Step at a Time: What Walking Has Taught Me About Walking with God

Sometimes Slowing Down Is Exactly What We Need

One thing I've noticed about walking is that my pace isn't always the same.

Some evenings I feel good and can walk faster. Other evenings I'm tired, and I need to slow down or walk a shorter distance.

But slowing down doesn't mean I've stopped making progress.

The same can be true in our walk with God.

Sometimes we assume that if we're slowing down, we're falling behind spiritually. But perhaps the better question is: What's making us tired?

Maybe we're carrying too much. Maybe we're trying to do everything. Maybe we're filling every quiet moment with noise and busyness. Maybe we've said yes to things God never asked us to carry.

Sometimes we don't need to slow our walk with God.

We need to slow down the things that are keeping us from walking closely with Him.

Jesus said,

“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” — Mark 6:31

Sometimes rest isn't a detour from our walk with God.

Sometimes rest is part of the walk.

So what might you need to slow down, let go of, or say no to so you can make more room for God?

Consistency Changes Things

When I first started walking more consistently, I couldn't see a difference right away.

One walk didn't make me stronger. One evening didn't transform my health.

But over time, I began noticing things. I could walk farther. I didn't get as tired. I felt stronger. Even my attitude seemed better.

The changes were gradual, but they were happening.

Our walk with God can be the same way.

Sometimes we wonder if the small things we do each day really make a difference. Reading our Bible. Praying. Worshipping. Choosing to trust God.

But consistency changes us.

Romans 10:17 says,

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

When we consistently open our Bibles, we consistently put God's truth in front of us. Over time, we begin to know His character, recognize His promises, and become more grounded in His truth.

Our faith grows.

We may not notice the difference after one day, but keep walking.

Open your Bible every day. It doesn't have to be an hour or five chapters. Read a chapter, a few verses, or even one verse and spend some time asking God what He wants you to see.

Then come back tomorrow.

And the next day.

Just as our bodies become stronger through consistent movement, our faith becomes stronger as we consistently spend time in God's Word.

Don't Give Up on Your Prayers

Consistency matters in prayer, too.

There are things we may pray about for days, weeks, months, or even years. We pray for our children, our marriages, our families, our health, our friends, and people we love who don't know Jesus.

And when we don't see an answer, it's easy to wonder if we should stop asking.

But Jesus told His disciples a story about a persistent widow who kept going back to a judge asking for justice. She didn't give up when the answer didn't come immediately.

Jesus used her persistence to teach His disciples about prayer.

Luke 18:1 says:

“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”

Always pray and not give up.

Think about someone or something you've been praying about for a long time.

Have you stopped?

Maybe it's time to start again.

Write the name down. Pray for that person while you're driving, getting ready for the day, or taking your evening walk. Bring that situation before God again and again.

We don't know when or how God will answer, but we can remain faithful in the asking.

Just like one walk doesn't immediately make us stronger, one prayer may not immediately change what we're praying about.

But that doesn't mean we stop walking.

It means we keep trusting the One we're walking with.

Worship Keeps Our Perspective

There's another way our walk with God is strengthened through consistency: worship.

Life can quickly pull our eyes toward everything that's going wrong.

The problem.

The bill.

The diagnosis.

The disappointment.

The unanswered prayer.

The thing we can't control.

Before long, we're looking at our circumstances more than we're looking at our Savior.

Worship turns our eyes back.

When we consistently worship God, we're reminding ourselves that He is still faithful, still good, still sovereign, and still worthy.

Hebrews 12:2 tells us to fix our eyes on Jesus.

That's what worship helps us do.

It doesn't mean we ignore our circumstances or pretend everything is fine. It means we choose to see those circumstances in light of who God is.

So make worship part of your everyday walk with God.

Turn on worship music while you're getting ready. Worship in the car. Sing while you're cooking. Thank God during your evening walk.

Worship when you're happy.

Worship when you're hurting.

Worship when you have answers.

Worship while you're waiting for them.

The more consistently we turn our eyes toward God, the more our perspective begins to reflect Him.

Keep Walking

I don't know what your walk with God looks like right now.

Maybe you're running.

Maybe you're walking.

Maybe you're barely taking one step at a time.

Maybe you've been walking with God for decades, or maybe you're just beginning.

Wherever you are, don't compare your pace to someone else's.

A slower pace doesn't mean you've stopped.

You may simply be in a season that requires a different pace.

Just take the next step.

Then another.

Over time, you'll look back and realize you've traveled farther than you thought you could.

Maybe that's what God is doing in us, too.

The Bible you keep reading.

The prayers you keep praying.

The worship you keep offering.

The faith you keep choosing.

All those seemingly small steps are shaping you.

You may not see the evidence today.

But keep walking.

Keep your eyes on Jesus.

Because the goal isn't to run someone else's race or maintain a perfect pace.

It's to remain faithful in the walk God has given you.

Hebrews 12:1 tells us to run with perseverance the race marked out for us, and verse 2 reminds us where to keep our eyes: Jesus.

We don't have to see the whole road.

We don't have to know every turn.

We just have to keep walking with the One who does.

And just as my physical walks are helping me become stronger and healthier one step at a time, God can use our daily, faithful steps with Him to make us spiritually stronger, too.

One prayer at a time.
One page of Scripture at a time.
One act of worship at a time.
One step at a time.

Keep walking.