Keep Walking

Isaiah 50 paints a picture of determination in the Lord:
7 "For the Lord God will help Me; Therefore I will not be disgraced; Therefore I have set My face like a flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed. 8 He is near who justifies Me; Who will contend with Me? Let us stand together. Who is My adversary? Let him come near Me. 9a Surely the Lord God will help Me; Who is he who will condemn Me?

I like that phrase:  "I have set My face like a flint"...this is the mind of Christ that is portrayed for us here, a confidence in God that no matter what, we will keep on walking, keep depending on Him, keep trusting in the strength of God's mighty hand.   We can know that the Lord God will help us.   In our journey in this life, in our walk, we can know the presence of Christ - even when there are hindrances that could get us off the course or even out of the race, God will show Himself faithful.   Even when people who once walked with us are no longer walking with us, we can relish in His companionship.   

Romans 15 talks about endurance and having encouragement as we endure:
4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. 5 Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus,


This past Saturday, there were over 40 young people from colleges around the country who met in Washington, D.C. to mark the conclusion of their 4 simultaneous pro-life walks across America.   The groups walked from Seattle, San Francisco, San Jose & Los Angeles to Washington to hold a pro-life rally at the Capitol   These energetic and passionate young people walked with a group called Crossroads, who has sponsored these pro-life walks across America every summer since 1995.  Wearing shirts that read "PRO-LIFE" across the front, and passing through 40 states and thousands of towns and cities, they spread the message of Christ and affirmed the sanctity of life with the people they met along the way in their 12-week journey.

"The mainstream media may tell you different, but we can say with authority and through actual experience at the grass-roots level, that America is truly a pro-life country." observed Jim Nolan, National Director of Crossroads Pro-Life.

This display reminds me of our friend, Rick Hagans of Harvest Evangelism, who selects a state each year and walk across it, calling attention to the need for shoes in poverty-stricken areas of Mexico.   And, I'm also reminded of people who will endure some physical sacrifice in order to support a cause or spread a message.  

And, there was an example of determination in the midst of sorrow in this year's Crossroads walks - a young man, Andrew Moore, lost his life as the result of an accident near Indianapolis while he walked.   The participants decided to keep going, and to dedicated their journeys this year to the memory of Andrew.

You know, in our walk through life, there will be those times that could serve to stop our progress or make us want to give up entirely.   But we can take the same attitude as sprinter Manteo Mitchell, who broke his leg during the semifinal round of the men’s Olympic 4 x 400 meter relay on Thursday, he kept on running, even though, he said, “It felt like somebody literally just snapped my leg in half.”   In that race, the U.S. team qualified for the finals and went on to take silver in London.  

Discouragement will come, there will be times of loss and sorrow, and disappointment is one of the false friends of this life.   But, as we keep our hope in Christ, we find that He walks with us and sustains us - even when people we have walked with are walking with us no longer and even when our steps are impeded.   He calls us to rest in His hope and to be determined to continue to go and grow along the path He has prepared.   Keep walking!