Who Knew Walking Would Require a Manual?
I once thought myself quite adept at walking. Two feet, alternating steps, arms swinging for balance. It seemed the perfect exercise, a system I had mastered. Then age crept in, my chronic illness worsened, and I quickly learned that walking is far more complicated than my toddler self ever imagined. Wah!
For instance, not long ago, I was strolling along, admiring the trees like a nature documentary narrator. Sadly, I failed to notice the road ahead was no longer flat. My ankle twisted one way, my body the other. Down I went, while my dog looked on with what I can only describe as mild disappointment and perhaps a hint of amusement in her eyes.
Another time, I got so distracted watching our dog, Tess, chase a squirrel that I walked straight into a low-hanging branch, nearly knocking myself senseless.
And sometimes, there's simply no excuse. One moment I'm walking, the next I'm stumbling on rocks, tripping over roots, or just losing my balance.
It turns out that walking requires paying attention. Who knew?
As I pondered my newfound difficulty with this simple task, I began to think about how often the Apostle Paul discusses "walking" in his letters. Not literal walking (though I'm sure he did plenty of that on his missionary journeys, likely tripping on a few Roman roads himself), but spiritual walking. That is, the way we live our everyday, put-one-foot-in-front-of-the-other Christian lives.
The more I looked, the more I realized Paul had essentially written us a manual. Multiple manuals, in fact. Apparently, we need them because walking with God is trickier than walking through the woods, and I speak from repeated, backside-first experience. Let's delve deeper into what Paul had to say about our everyday Christian walk.
Walk in the Spirit.
In Galatians 5:16, Paul writes, "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh." This is the daily choice to let the Holy Spirit set the pace and direction, rather than allowing our own cravings and agendas to pull us off the trail. It's the difference between me watching where I'm going and me gawking at squirrels while my feet do whatever they please. When I walk in the Spirit, I'm asking Him to steer my life through prayer, His Word, and that quiet nudge that says, "Don't send that text," instead of letting my flesh barrel ahead like an overeager beagle on a scent.
Walk by faith.
Second Corinthians 5:7 tells us, "For we walk by faith, not by sight." Oh, how I wish I could see every root before I trip over it! But faith means moving forward even when the path ahead is shadowed. It means trusting that God has already scouted the trail, even when I can't see past the next bend. I've walked plenty of wooded paths where I couldn't see what was around the corner, and I had to trust that the trail (and the One who made it) knew where it was going.
Walk in newness of life.
Romans 6:4 reminds us that we were "buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." This is the resurrection walk, leaving the old, sin-soaked path behind and stepping onto an entirely new trail. Not a detour. Not a patch job. An entirely new route, because the old one did not lead to a good place.
Walk in Christ.
In Colossians 2:6, Paul says, "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him." Just as I received Him by faith, I'm to continue walking that same way, rooted, established, and not wandering off in some other direction just because it looks interesting at a fork in the trail. Walking in faith that the Lord who saved me will continue to keep me safe as long as I'm walking in Him and with Him.
Walk worthy.
Ephesians 4:1 urges us to "walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called." This isn't about earning our calling, for we could never afford that price tag. Instead, it's about living in a way that matches the calling we've already been given. If I've been called a child of the King, my walk (my actual daily conduct, my attitude toward the annoying driver who cut me off) ought to reflect it.
Walk in love.
Ephesians 5:2 says to "walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us." This is love with feet. Not just warm feelings, but action. Love that shows up with a casserole, that forgives the friend who forgot your birthday, that keeps walking toward reconciliation even when it would be so much easier to sit down and sulk. This means living out 1 Corinthians 13 day after day, hour after hour.
Walk as children of light.
Ephesians 5:8 tells us, "for ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light." This means no more sneaking around in the shadows of secret sin, hoping nobody notices. It involves laying ourselves bare before the Lord in complete honesty and openness, holding nothing back. We walk in the open, in the light, because we belong to the Light of the World Himself.
Walk circumspectly.
Ephesians 5:15 says to "see then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise." I love this one because it's basically God saying, "Watch where you're going!" Walk carefully. Pay attention to the roots. Don't let the distractions of squirrels, deadlines, and doom-scrolling knock you flat when a little wisdom would have kept you upright.
Every single one of these "walks" requires the same basic ingredient: attention to the Guide, not the ground. When I fell in the middle of the road, it wasn't because the path was impossible. It was because I stopped watching where the Guide (in that case, my own two eyes) told me to look. Spiritually, I fall in the same way. I get distracted by my flesh, my fear, or my need to be right, and the next thing I know, I'm flat on my backside, wondering how I got there and glancing around to see if anyone witnessed my horrific spill.
Now, are you ready for some good news?
Falling isn't failing!
Getting back up, dusting off, and continuing the walk matters most. Paul never says we'll walk perfectly. He says to keep walking in the Spirit, by faith, in newness of life, in Christ, worthy of our calling, in love, in light, and carefully.
One step. One choice. One day at a time.
And even when we trip (and we will), the Guide is right there, offering a hand up and pointing us back toward the trail. Your fall doesn't have to be fatal. God is the God of second chances...and third...and fourth. He never gives up on His children, no matter how many times we fall.
That being said, it's best not to fall if we can help it. Just ask my poor bruised body!
🔍 PULLING BACK THE CURTAIN: A Peek at the Study Behind This Post
This idea began during my morning devotions as I studied the armor of God. On this day, I was studying what it means to have our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. That led me to think about hiking and the importance of proper footwear. I followed this rabbit trail to the memory of a literal fall and a close call with a tree branch. Before long, I thought about how Paul talks about "walking" constantly in his letters, and I'd never actually lined up all those verses in one place. So, I decided to find out exactly how many times Paul talked about walking and what specifically he said in each instance.
Step 1 — The spark. During my devotion time, I made myself a note to come back later and look up the word "walk" in my concordance. (I did this so I could continue my armor of God study without going completely down the rabbit hole, but still not forget about the rabbit hole I had uncovered. After all, I do NOT trust my memory these days.) Anyway, I was stunned to see how many times the word popped up across Paul's epistles. That's not an accident! That's a pattern worth digging into.
Step 2 — Sorting the "walks." I went verse by verse and started grouping them by theme: walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16, 25), walk by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7), walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4), walk in Christ (Colossians 2:6), walk worthy (Ephesians 4:1), walk in love (Ephesians 5:2), walk as children of light (Ephesians 5:8), and walk circumspectly (Ephesians 5:15). Eight distinct "walks" from one apostle. That's basically a whole training manual!
Step 3 — The Greek rabbit trail. I got curious about the exact word Paul used and found out it's peripateo, which literally means "to make one's way" or "to walk about," used metaphorically for one's daily life and conduct. That confirmed my instinct: Paul wasn't being poetic for poetry's sake. He was describing an ongoing lifestyle, not a one-time decision.
Step 4 — Cross-referencing the context. I read the surrounding verses for each "walk" to see what came right before and after, and noticed each one answers a different practical question: How do I resist temptation? (Galatians 5:16). How do I handle uncertainty? (2 Corinthians 5:7). How do I leave my old life behind? (Romans 6:4). That's when I realized this wasn't just a list. It was a whole framework for daily Christian living.
Step 5 — The "aha" moment. Sitting with all eight verses side by side, the common thread jumped out: every single "walk" requires watching the Guide instead of the ground. That's when the dog-walking tumble and the theology finally clicked together into one devotion.
Time note: This one took about two solid hours of Bible-app searching and verse-sorting. Ironically, the research walk was smoother than the literal one!
Want to try this yourself? The next time a word or idea jumps out at you more than once in Scripture, open up your Bible app, search it, and see what patterns show up. You might be amazed at what treasure is buried just a few taps away. Grab your shovel (or your search bar) and start digging. You never know what you'll uncover! And, if other thoughts invade your personal Bible study time, don't fret. Sometimes, those "stray" thoughts bring another layer to your current devotion. And sometimes, while they aren't exactly the right fit for your current study, you may find they make an interesting study on their own. Keep a notepad or your phone (with sounds and notifications off) handy during your devotion time and jot down those seemingly stray or random thoughts. You never know where God may use them later.