Just A Closer Walk with Jesus

Let’s try to get a little closer to God today. There’s a song that came into my head this week. It is “Just a closer walk with Thee.” The first stanza says “Just a closer walk with Thee, Grant it, Jesus, is my plea, Daily walking close to Thee, Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.” There’s a time to “talk the talk” and there’s a time “walk the walk.”

How can we have a closer walk with God? We pray for God to help us to have a daily walk with God. Did you realize that that song is a prayer? We are praying through a song that we just want a closer walk with Thee. We are praying that Jesus will grant our prayer to have a daily walk that gets us closer to God. Have you had songs pop up into your head during the week? Sometimes, the words to the song are an answer that we’ve been searching to find. If it happens, listen to the words and understand what those words mean to me and you.

God is with us every step that we take. The question is whether we recognize God at our side. God is there. God is there in the good times and the bad times.

I felt God’s presence during the last three weeks after we were hit with Susan’s illness. We have had so many prayers, letters, cards, and love sent our way. Each person is sharing the love of Jesus Christ with us.

I was talking with a man this week. He owns a business that he started about seven years ago. His business is making money, but just barely. He called me on Wednesday night and told me that he was ready to give up and that the pressure of running a business was too much. He has too much debt and not enough income. There are a lot of people in that same boat. The banks want to loan you money when you don’t need it and aren’t willing to loan you money when you do need it.

I told him that he needs to turn all of his problems over to God when the problems are too heavy to bear. I also advised him that he needs to get his life in alignment. It needs to be God, family, and then work. He doesn’t have God in his life at all. He has a vague notion that God is in all of the people who help him and who show him the love of Jesus Christ. He’s right that he is seeing God in the people, but he doesn’t know God.

He is walking through the storm of life without God there to assist him or carry him when he can’t walk on his own. His answer is that I have a strong faith and it could work for me, but not for him. He is wrong. God loves all of us, not just certain ones.

The next stanza of the song answers that businessman’s question. It says “I am weak, but Thou art strong; Jesus, keep me from all wrong; I’ll be satisfied as long as I walk, let me walk close to Thee.” The song explains that we are weak and God is the one that is strong. If we rely only on ourselves, we are not able to live life alone. This one stanza is so powerful. The stanza makes us admit that we are weak and we can’t make it without God’s power and love in our life. It also encourages us to walk closer to God.

My heart ached for him. We were talking about his business and he didn’t understand why I was bringing up God. He was talking to me for my business advice. He thought that I was a little off topic.

God is the answer when you don’t know what the question is. God is always the answer. He is going through his challenges without the aid and support of God. Why?

I would never be brave or dumb enough to go through life by myself. I am not able to find the answers by myself. We don’t have to find the answers without God’s help. God’s favor is opening doors that should be closed. God’s favor is having a bank loan you money when the bank has no logical reason to loan you money. God’s favor is making the impossible into the possible.

The next stanza goes “Through this world of toil and snares, if I falter, Lord, who cares? Who with me my burden shares? None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.” God cares about our toil, hard work, and snares. Our snares are anything in life that trips or traps us and causes us despair. God cares if we falter. God shares our burdens. In fact, God will completely take away our burdens if we just turn our burdens over to Him.

Satan wants us to believe that no one cares about us, but that is a lie. We are loved by God and our friends and our family. We can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens us. Is that right? Jesus not only cares about us he will take away our pain and suffering. Jesus will bring us love and joy and hope.

We just have to do what the next stanza tells us to do. It says “Take my hand, Lord Jesus. Take my hand, Lord Jesus. There’s a race to be run and there’s a victory to be won. Every hour is the hour to go to God.” It is not so easy to hold hands. It takes two people to hold hands. Both people have to reach out to each other. Both people have to grab onto the other person’s hand. Jesus is already reaching out to us. Jesus is ready to grab onto our hand. We just have to ask Jesus to take our hand.

Proverbs 22:1-5 tells us that the Lord is maker of all of us. This is the scripture: “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. ² Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all. ³ A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.

⁴ Humility and the fear of the Lord bring wealth and honor and life. ⁵ In the paths of the wicked lie thorns and snares, but he who guards his soul stays far from them.”

How do the verses in Proverbs tie back into our song? If we seek to have a closer walk with Jesus Christ, we will be humble and take refuge with God during the storm. Our name will be a good one if we walk with Jesus Christ.

We will see the thorns and snares during our life and ask Jesus to carry us until the path is safe again. We will also pray for God to guard our soul so that the attacks of this life will not harm us.

James 2:8-9 tells us “⁸If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right. ⁹But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.” How do we keep that law? It is easy. We ask Jesus to take a closer walk with us. The love of Jesus Christ will shine out of the darkness through us onto those that need to be loved.

The definition of favoritism is “the favoring of one person or group over others with equal claims; partiality: to show favoritism toward the youngest child.” Why is favoritism so bad? Jesus loves all of God’s children. We should follow the example set out for us by Jesus Christ by loving all people.

Jesus tells it another way in Matthew 22:37-40. “Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and all your mind. This is the greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Okay. Now, we walk closer to God. We love all people even the unlovable. Our faith in God is growing as we experiences God’s love in our lives as we are walking side by side with Jesus Christ. We are even reaching out to hold the hand of Jesus Christ. The hard part is next. James 2:14-22 ties our walk with Jesus beyond what Jesus can do for us, but what we can do for our friends and even our enemies.

James 2:14-22 explains the struggle is between faith and deeds. We don’t serve God to get into heaven. We serve God out of thanksgiving that we are going to heaven. We serve God because he blesses us.

We don’t work to get God’s blessings. We work to show our appreciation for God’s blessings. It is grace that we are saved. It is not from works that we are saved. We work to serve God because we are thankful that by God’s grace we have victory over death and sin. The best way to explain the love of Jesus Christ is to “walk the walk” and show that love by loving others with your actions.

James tells us “¹⁴What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? ¹⁵Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. ¹⁸But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. ¹⁹You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

²⁰You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? ²¹Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²²You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.”

Just a closer walk with Jesus Christ will make all of the difference in our life here on earth and in heaven. We can turn every worry and trouble over to God. He will hear our prayers and answer them. Jesus is walking beside us today. In fact, if we look behind us we will see one set of footprints in the Franklin County clay. It doesn’t mean that we were walking alone. It means that God carried us when we were weak and afraid. If you have never asked God to walk beside you, today is that day. If you have never reached out your hand to hold the hand of Jesus Christ, today is that day.

If you are trapped in Satan’s snare, ask Jesus Christ to open up that trap and free you for a new life. You will be a new creation. The worries and troubles of your old life will be taken away. The joy and hope found in Jesus Christ will replace those worries and troubles.

Turn over all of your problems to Jesus Christ right now. If you are complaining about the way others are serving God then you are not walking closer to God. Turn the anger and complaints over to God. Release your troubles and your doubts right now.

I hope the song “Just a closer walk with thee” will stick in your head. I hope you start singing it or whistling the tune. “Daily walking close to Thee. Let it be, dear Lord, Let it be. Just a closer walk with Thee. Grant it, Jesus is my plea.” Today is the day for us to celebrate the gift that Jesus died on the cross so that we could have a closer walk with Him. Take a walk this afternoon. Reach out your hand to God. Tell God that he is your God and that you are his servant this day and forever. Jesus will walk with you every day of your life if you ask just ask Jesus today into your heart. The impossible will be possible when Jesus is walking by your side. Why walk alone anymore when we can walk with the love of Jesus Christ? Let us take a walk because we know that there’s a race to be run and a victory to be won if we just say “Yes, Lord. I can’t walk alone anymore. I want you to be the Lord and Savior of my life. I am yours and you are mine.” Amen.