How’s Your Walk?

The book of Hosea in the Old Testament ends with the following verse:  Who is wise?  Let him understand these things.  Who is prudent?  Let him know them.  For the ways of the Lord are right; The righteous walk in them, But transgressors stumble in them.  I confess to not knowing much about the prophet Hosea.  I do know that he was commanded by God to marry a prostitute which is pretty weird in and of itself.  God used Hosea’s marriage to illustrate to the nation of Israel their own harlotry as they chased after other gods.  He showed them through Hosea that God would be faithful to them despite their sin and that they could and would one day return to Him.  But it was this verse, especially the last phrase, that got me thinking this morning:

Why or how can the righteous walk in the ways of the Lord but transgressors stumble in them?  Why can followers of God live in the righteous ways but sinners cannot?  It cannot simply be some sort of genetic disposition or dependent on which side of the tracks you are from.  It is much more than that.  What makes the difference between the righteous and the transgressor?  The difference is not external at all, but rather internal.  The only reason that a follower of God can walk or live in God’s ways is because God has planted within that follower the Spirit of God.  God, Himself, like an internal GPS keeps us from stumbling.  He provides through the Spirit of God a supernatural ability to keep from stumbling.  Sure, we will trip up from time to time as we ignore the prompting of the Spirit and choose our own path to walk on.  However, in general, as we walk in the ways of righteousness we will not stumble.

Today, let’s be thankful for how God has planted Himself in each follower of Jesus, to keep us from stumbling and to enable us to walk in His righteousness.  Jesus Christ has imputed or reckoned his righteousness to us, not because of our efforts but because of His love and our faith.  Today, you can walk in the righteous ways of the Lord because of the fact that God lives within you.  Praise God for that!

Have a good “walk” today.