A good amount of each day is spent traveling from one spot to another. Sometimes the distance is short—a few steps here or there—and sometimes it is longer. For sure, there is a lot of physical movement by each of us as well as around us throughout any given day. Add to this the movements that occur within that are not “physical,” such as a change of heart, a new or different perspective, and so on.

In Psalm 116, the psalmist writes, “I shall walk before the LORD in the land of the living” (verse 9). Notice how the psalmist does not write, “I shall run before the Lord,” “I shall stand before the Lord,” or “I shall sit before the Lord.” The psalmist uses the word, “walk.”

“I shall walk before the Lord.” It is intentional, measured, and purposeful, as if to say, “As I go about my way in this life, I will move with meaning, ever mindful of the Lord’s presence.” A tall order, yes, but not impossible one step… one moment at a time.

The journey is meant to be something that is striven for, without succumbing to a notion or drive toward perfection. Mistakes and mishaps, trials and tribulations are par for the course, and the more one can acknowledge and look to learn from them, the less distraction they will cause while walking through them. More than anything, it is about a heart that is open and willing, filled with desire for constant contact and union with the Lord, while in the land of the “living.”

In the Gospel of Mark, chapter 8, verses 27-35, Jesus asks his disciples about who they believe him to be. Peter immediately answers, “You are the Messiah.” Peter knows and believes in Jesus as the Savior, but he, like the others, does not know what that really means. When Jesus then tells them that he will be beaten and killed, and about his resurrection, Peter responds just as fervently as he did when professing Jesus as the Messiah. However, where Peter says to the Lord, “Yes!” loud and clear, now when Jesus tells him something that is unexpected, unpleasant, and most likely the exact opposite of what he has envisioned or hoped for, Peter says to the Lord, “No!” loud and clear. While his passion may be the same, in that moment, he loses sight of the Lord and with that, his response moves away from being intentional, measured, and purposeful. Jesus recognizes this immediately and responds, “Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

As Peter continues striving to walk with the Lord both before and after the death and resurrection of Jesus, he learns as he moves and grows in trust, wisdom, and understanding. We, also disciples, are called to move in the same way… and we can, too.

How do I walk not only before the Lord, but also with and in the Lord as I go about each day… each moment?

We must not mind insulting men, if by respecting them we offend God. – Saint John Chrysostom

Jesus and his disciples set out
for the villages of Caesarea Philippi.
Along the way he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that I am?”
They said in reply,
“John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others one of the prophets.”
And he asked them,
“But who do you say that I am?”
Peter said to him in reply,
“You are the Christ.”
Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.

He began to teach them
that the Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed, and rise after three days.
He spoke this openly.
Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,
rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them,
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake
and that of the gospel will save it.” – Mark 8:27-35