Today I want to build on the prior blog post by discussing what I mean by “Walk Worthy”.

How are we expected to “walk in a manner worthy” of God when we can’t possibly live up to His standard perfectly and comply with all that the law given to Moses demands? We know that we are prone to wander from His law and give in to sin. So, is it just a lost cause? By no means!

Walking worthy isn’t about works. It isn’t about how good you or I can be. It isn’t about earning God’s love or favor. The following three points explain what I mean by using the term “walk worthy”:

1. Walking worthy is daily surrendering to Him with a desire to follow Him, through the power of the Holy Spirit, because of your deep love for Him and sincere gratitude for His amazing mercy and grace.

   In 1 Thessalonians 2:12 (NLT), Paul says, “We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy.” And what way is that? In Hosea 6:6 (ESV), God says “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” God tells us plainly through the prophet Hosea that He wants us to love Him. He doesn’t desire perfection, He knows we can’t live up to that standard (Psalm 103:14), that’s why He sent Jesus! But because of His immense love, He most desires a two-way love relationship with each of us. The God of the universe invites us to have an active and voluntary love relationship with Him.

2. Walking worthy is about daily abiding to become more like Jesus.

   It was Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane that we would be one and be one with Him just as He and the Father are one (John 17). This is a bit mind-blowing, I admit. He also said the following, as recorded in John 15: “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing…By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”          

   You see, we can do nothing of any value – produce nothing – if we are not connected to and getting our nourishment from Jesus. We abide in Him first, then the fruit will come. We can do nothing of value without abiding in Jesus.

3. Walking worthy is about growing in the knowledge of God and His word.

   To know Him is to love Him, which is why the knowledge of God and love for God are so tightly linked. At the end of the Hosea 6:6 passage I noted earlier, God says He desires us to want to know Him, rather than bring sacrifices (known as burnt offerings in the old testament). God desires for us to truly know Him, not just know about Him. In Psalm 103, verse 7, we learn that Moses and God had just such a relationship. The Psalmist tells us that Moses knew God – His heart, His desires, His motivations – but the people of Israel merely knew His acts. They saw God’s miracles, but missed out on the most amazing miracle of all: the invitation to have a deep and personal relationship with the God of the universe, and intimately know Him.

How do we do this? The prophet Ezekiel (Ez. 36:26-27) tells us that God Himself causes us to walk in a manner worthy, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” (emphasis mine) When we have a proper relationship with God, He will do the work of transforming us and, not just allowing us, actually causing us to walk in His ways. He makes us walk worthy. Isn’t that so amazing!?!?

“So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of His call. May He give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do.” (2 Thessalonians 1:11, NLT, emphasis mine)

This is just one of many profound mysteries of God as revealed in His word. Join me as we travel this road together and learn what it means to walk worthy.