Walking the path

(2-minute read)

The first time I heard it was at night, and it may have been in a dream. The Lord spoke to me and said, “Walk with me.” On occasion, since then, that instruction has come before me, not like I’m hearing it but more like I’m remembering it in a way that cannot be ignored. I always think I know what he means and anticipate what will happen. In every case, I’ve been wrong.

The occasion that had the most significant impact on me was when he wanted me to take great care of the inputs into my life. That was to pay close attention to the people who influenced me, what I read, movies, and TV programs I watched. It isn’t about people doing bad things on a program; it’s about how the show affects me.

For a while, things were fine. I was holding down jobs for two different enterprises simultaneously. Like most manager positions, my primary function was to create and implement strategy for what they were doing. For a period, the work seemed to get more complex every day. I began thinking I wasn’t smart enough to handle both jobs.

As I drove to work, I habitually listened to a political commentary show on the radio each morning. I had been praying and asking the Lord to tell me what to do and whether I should quit one of the jobs. One morning, when I left for work and turned on the political commentary, everything in me began to say, be careful with the inputs into your life. After I listened to the show, there were almost always things that were upsetting and made me angry. When I was trying to concentrate at work, those things that made me angry would go round and round in my brain. That morning, I reached over and turned off the radio and never again listened to that program. My politics did not change by not listening to it, but my ability to concentrate on work made my job much easier. Everything went back to normal. Anger was using up a portion of my brain, causing me to effectively be less intelligent.

As I controlled the inputs into my life, walking with the Lord became more natural. I began to notice a spiritual clarity I had not had before. Often, it was on subjects other people seemed to already understand, and I was just coming late to the game. That clarity didn’t come from intellect but from an unhindered walk with the Lord. The Lord wants to set me free. Since then, any input that consistently causes fear, disappointment, or anger has been immediately suspected as something whose value I should possibly question. The older I get, the greater care I need to take in guarding my mind so I can walk out my life with the Lord.