Walk This Way
Jeremiah 6:16 says, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’”
Encounter:
Sometime over the next few days, find a moment to take a walk - perhaps around your neighborhood, on the Cardinal Greenway, the White River Greenway, or at one of the hidden gems tucked away in our area (you can find some of these places here: https://fortheland.org/land/
If you’re unable to do so, at least find a quiet place where you can observe the outdoors.
As you walk, what do you notice? What do you observe in nature? Are there trees that are changing colors or losing leaves? What sounds do you hear? What scents do you smell? How does your body experience the time spent outdoors? Do you find yourself breathing in deeply of the fresh air? How does your body feel? How does your mind react to your time outside?
Reflect:
There is a certain rhythm or pace at which our souls seem at their best. The Japanese theologian Kosuke Koyama says that pace is three miles an hour - the average speed of walking. In a culture of hurry, crammed-full calendars, and simply not having enough time, the invitation to “Godspeed” is a breath of fresh air. Connecting with God is as simple as walking out your front door.
From Jeremiah 6:16 God’s invitation to the nation of Judah through Jeremiah’s message is an invitation to that rhythm “Stop…look around.”
So often in life, we only stop and look around when there is an obvious need - in dangerous or emergent situations, when our PTO has accrued enough time for us to take that well-earned, much-needed vacation, or when our time for retirement has finally come. Otherwise, we’re constantly “on-the-go.”
However, we were not created as people of unrelenting activity - we are made in the image of God. When you take a look at Jesus throughout the Gospels, he has a certain relaxed attitude. He never rushed to get from one place to the next, and he seemed to always be fully present no matter where he was.
What if that same way of living is available to us?
In the second half of Jeremiah 6:16, we see that there is something to be done after we have stopped and looked around - we seek the old, well-worn godly way to travel.
We often compare our life with a journey or a walk; what we might call our journey with Jesus or our walk with God. While our unique experience of that journey or walk is ours alone, we know that that path is one that has been traveled many times before us, is being traveled by many alongside us, and will be traveled by many who will come after us. To walk in that old, godly way means simply this, to walk with Jesus.
Yet, like the nation of Judah about whom Jeremiah wrote in the opening passage of our Renew, we often outwardly or internally cry out, “No, that’s not the road I want!” Our culture seems to do a really good job turning our attention and our gaze away from this old, godly way. When we stop and look around, any number of distractions can cause us to almost immediately lose sight of God’s invitation to life with him. We feel overwhelmed with work, relationships, and loved ones with illness so we seek escape. We hear of wars, rumors of wars, and questions about an unknown future with intelligent technology so we spiral into worry and fear. We see news of unthinkable atrocities in the world so we lose heart and faith in humanity. How does life seem to cause friction to God’s invitation to the ancient paths?
Deuteronomy 26:17 says, “You have declared this day that the LORD is your God, and that you will walk in obedience to him, that you will keep his decrees, commands, and laws - that you will listen to him.”
To be clear, God’s invitation to the ancient path of living life with Jesus does not mean we bury our head in the sand to find connection with a God who is uninterested in the troubles of this world. In fact, to walk with Jesus means exactly the opposite. Where a heart disconnected with God feels overwhelmed, worried, fearful, and lost - a heart connected to God is equipped to meet the challenges of the world with the love, faith, and hope that only Jesus offers. To walk in obedience, listening to God throughout life’s challenges means we love Jesus and live like Jesus.
May you find encouragement in the words of St. Teresa of Avila “Christ has no body now but yours.” That’s not an expectation to be met but an invitation to be received with joy.
So, stop, look around, ask for the old, godly way and walk in it. Travel that path, and you will find rest for your souls.
Godspeed,
Pastor Matt
Spiritual Practice:
We’ve just recently been through the Week of Global 24/7 Prayer hosted by the same brothers and sisters who put together the Lectio365 devotionals. As we make our way into Advent, Lectio365 is focusing on the prayers of those who have walked the ancient path before us. Prayer encompasses such a wide range of ways that we converse with our God which involves talking, listening, and even silence as we process what is said. One of the ways I learned to pray is with the acronym A.C.T.S. - Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication.
Perhaps while taking a walk outside or sitting to observe the outdoors, you can offer up an A.C.T.S. prayer.
Gather:
Where are you in your journey with Jesus, your walk with God?
How does your body, mind, and spirit seem to respond to or resonate with the rhythm or pace of life that Jesus lived throughout the Gospels?
In what ways does your heart ache for Jesus to mend all that seems broken in our world?
What barriers might be keeping you from asking for the old, godly way and traveling that path? How might you reorder your life around the old, godly way?
P.S. - Some of my favorite places to walk in East-Central Indiana are Craddock Wetlands Nature Preserve, Dutro-Ernst Woods and Prairie Creek trails (both of which I helped build), Red-tail Nature Preserve, and McVey Memorial Forest.
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