The specificity of walking with God
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” Psalm 32:8
God is not lazy and has not industrialized the process of creation. We are each made intricately by the Master, and our story has the undivided attention and care of the Sovereign God. He does not use the human model of “One size fits all,” and He approaches our lives on the premise of specificity. Although we walk on the same narrow road, there are instructions along the path we tread that are specific to us.
If you’ve been following Abiding Christian, you’ll know my Mum. She is the best example of Christianity for me because I was privileged to see her walk with God in good times and through very dark seasons of her life. As her daughter, I saw that Jesus never left her through each turn, nor did she throw in the towel when the road got too bumpy. He was her friend, strength, and Father, and I love the God of my mother.
In the years I spent with her on Earth, I didn’t see my Mum wear jewelry, and because she loved to talk to us about her walk with God, one of the stories I grew up with was why she stopped using jewelry. She said she loved gold so much that she spent hours traveling to other states to buy earrings and necklaces. On the day of my brother’s naming, she said she was upstairs getting ready for it when she received direct instruction from God not to use jewelry again because it affects her heart for God.
One would expect someone with such an encounter would discourage all her girls from using jewelry, but she didn’t. She would tell us that she’d never buy us jewelry, but Dad could. She said the instruction was for her and not us, and when we grow up and can buy them for ourselves, we are free to.
It’s so easy for us to generalize and mistake God’s specific instructions to us. Walking with Jesus comes with foundational principles that govern the redemptive soul, but in between the lines and the chapters of each of our stories are lines drawn peculiar to our individual journey. For instance, all Christians must love their neighbors as themselves, but God determines how we express that love. Just because one Christian mows the lawns of His neighbor does not make it a rule for all Christians because the love expression of another might be to pray for his neighbors.
Although they might look different, we can serve and express God’s love in our highs and lows, regardless of who or where we are. Abraham served God as a citizen and alien; David served God as a shepherd and king; Moses served God as a desolate and a Prophet. We can show people Christ’s love from any cultural perspective and any position we occupy. Although written in the same Book of Life with the same Blood of the Lamb, the specificity of our assignments' details speaks to our hearts' health.
From my Mum’s approach to her walk with God, I learned that to fulfill God’s assignments, I must listen and understand what God wants to teach me and apply them to my life. I don't mind if He’s giving others the same or different instructions. I need to obey mine before I can help others.
