Oh Come And Walk With The Lord With Me

"Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with the whole heart! They also do no iniquity, they walk in his ways." Psalm 119:2 One has to be born again in order to understand this passage. I can testify to the "before and after." Before I was born again, I thought only on how to achieve what I wanted in life. I knew God was there, but I did not know him. That didn't bother me because my idea of him was of someone far, far away, unreachable, so I didn't think of him much. I only thought of myself and of what I wanted in life. Then one day, the Lord came into my life. Its a long story, but it's a day that I will remember till the day I leave this earth, because it was the single pivotal event in my life, the most important and life-changing thing that has ever happened to me, or that ever will. It happened in a moment, suddenly. I began that day in my usual darkness, but at around 11:00 in the morning an event took place and a man and woman brought me to the Lord, and I was born again. The only way I can describe it is to say that the light went on. It changed everything. No, I wasn't perfected on that day, when someone is born again he is born as a babe and has to grow in the Lord. It would take much learning and many many stories (and I do have many) to mature me in the Lord. That takes a lifetime, and as much as I have grown, I must yet grow even more. But the light was on. If you're in a very dark room and someone turns on the light, it makes all the difference in the world, doesn't it? You see what you were UNABLE to see before. And once that light is on, you can't UNsee, the darkness is gone and now you see. I even saw things I didn't understand, but the point was that I saw. And it changed everything, EVERYTHING. My whole view on life was instantly and dramatically changed - in a moment. On that day, I had an appointment scheduled for the following week with a psychiatrist and one with a medium. But by 12:00 on THIS day I cancelled them both. I knew beyond any shadow of any doubt that the doctor couldn't help me, and I lost interest in the medium. I knew that something dramatic had taken place within me, and I knew that that was ALL that matters. I have never, EVER regretted what happened that day, even though the powers of hell were going to do all they could to destroy me and I would taste trauma and loss, affliction and calamity. The Lord knew what was going to happen, and he gave me the following verse to remember and keep within my heart: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name, YOU ARE MINE. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you, for I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;" Isaiah 43:1-3 And so it was. He has never left me nor forsaken me, even in times when I stumbled, times when I was wrong. His faithfulness is unquestionable. His faithfulness is totally reliable. Then for every trial and trauma, he later multiplied blessing in happy things, joyful things, totally unexpected things I could never have anticipated before. I experienced both the agony but then the ecstasy from his hand. These are the things that make up the life of one who walks with God. He walks WITH you, you are never alone. The most important element in the born-again experience and then in one's walk with God is ...God's Word. He taught me from the very beginning that IT'S ALL ABOUT HIS WORD. "Your testimonies also are my delight and my counselors." Psalm 119:24 They are our counselors, no other counsel will do. vs 9: "How can a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed according to your Word." Psalm 119:9 At times his Word brought pain into my life. When he speaks truth, sometimes that truth can be terribly painful. But once embraced, the joy and the freedom that came forth was as though I had drank a cup of awful-tasting medicine, but it made me well. That's how it is with the Lord. He knows that our success in our walk with him will necessitate some painful learning lessons, but the bottom line is that it's ALWAYS for our good. God loves his own as a tender Father, but he does all that's necessary to grow us up. He might let me touch the hot burner in order to convince me not to touch it again, but once learned, it's learned forever. Truly the ways of God are unknowable, except as we experience them and then through them - we come to delight in his ways. vs 30-31: "I have chosen the way of truth, your judgments I have laid before me. I cling to your testimonies;" Once experienced, the only desire in life therefore becomes to know him more, to grow more - whatever that takes - and to tell others the wonders of walking with God. It's such an adventure. The delightful thing about it is the knowledge that this learning will go on for as long as one lives. That is the delight of my heart. vs 18: "Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from your law." Truly, those wondrous discoveries open up more and more as time goes on. Oh come people, come and walk with the Lord with me. You will find him steadfast, faithful, trustworthy, true, and utterly, utterly delightful. More: Born Again -What Does That Mean?