Have you ever tried to take a puppy for a walk? Let’s set the scene. It’s a beautiful day so you decide to take a nice walk and spend some time bonding with your best friend. You ask her with excitement in your voice, “do you want to go for a walk?” She’s jumping and barking and excited too! So, you go to the door, attach the leash, and off you go. Before you even get out of your yard she decides, nope…I am not going. She sits down and now you are not taking a walk; you are in an argument and you’re telling her to get up. Finally, she does, and you are able to start down the path. Now, she is pulling at you so hard, you aren’t having a leisurely stroll, you’re almost running. You yell STOP! But she doesn’t listen. She just keeps pulling on you, missing all the beauty of the moment, the time you wanted to spend with her, your best friend.

Do you think God ever feels like this? He wants to spend time with us, but we are either sitting stubbornly in the yard, or we are pulling at him, rushing ahead, and missing the moment that he is trying to have with us. Galatians 5:16, “ So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

So, I ask myself, “Am I being led by the Spirit”? Or am I pulling, yanking, biting, fighting, refusing to listen, as God is trying to lead me down a path. Am I setting my own pace, or am I walking along side God, matching his stride with mine, taking in the time we have together, listening to the words he is speaking? There are only two people in the bible, who lived and then went straight to heaven, without tasting death. Elijah, the great prophet of the old testament and Enoch. In Genesis 5:24, “Enoch walked steadily with God. And then one day he was simply gone: God took him.”

My dad had a great mind and when he was sober, we had some wonderful conversations. I can remember when I would go to visit him, we’d take long walks in the country, and talk about all kinds of things. But in those times, I never ran ahead of my dad. I never dragged my feet. I just walked with him, hand in hand, talking about life and God. The moment was so precious, and I cherished it. I had no idea that in less than 10 years, I would lose him forever.

So, is God asking you to take a walk with him tonight? Is he asking you to sit down and watch him paint the sky, with a brilliant sunset? Is he asking you to hear his voice as you meditate on his word? Stop running ahead! Stop dragging your feet! Lace up your tennis shoes and put your hand in his. Relish the time he wants to spend with you! He loves you! You’re his best friend!