A Walk To Remember

This is the final post in the When God Speaks {or doesn’t} guest post series.  When I issued an open invitation to ‘occupy’ my blog on twitter & the GwG facebook page, I had no idea I’d get so many great posts & post-ees.  If you missed them, take a look back in the Jan. archives! I’m still not sure why, but it felt incredibly liberating and empowering to host a diversity of inspiring, vulnerable, beautifully told voices.  What a giant, hosting honor!  Thankful, thankful, thankful.

I’m working on an editorial calendar for GwG & will share that post soon so you’ll know exactly where this rodeo is headed.  If you don’t want to miss a thing, may I suggest you subscribe to my newsletter or RSS?  Without further ado, our guest poster, Ken…

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In the course of my time in college, I’ve grown to develop an affinity for running and walking. I, like a lot of my friends, do not enjoy exercising. I’ve never liked gyms, so I run or walk outside. I may hate that I’m working out, but once surrounded by nature and God’s world, I tend to quickly forget that I’m participating in physical activity. I use that time to reflect, pray, and worship. There’s something about devoting a singular moment with God that completely transforms an otherwise mundane activity with negative associations.

I like to eat yet hope I manage not to gain weight, but reality kicks in when I have to work a harder to put on my jeans. So, like many times, I kick my butt into gear and get to moving again.

Life becomes more complicated when I get lazy and stop exercising. Why? I spend less time talking to God.

A few months ago, I arrived at a point of stagnation in ministry and my personal relationship with God.  Everything just stopped moving. I was receiving the Word, yet my faith was turned off. I tried talking it out with God and with others, but nothing happened. In those moments, I could only ask God “why?” I had little else to go on, except a feeling. I knew a feeling wasn’t going to get me through this, but I held on anyway. This “crisis of faith” led to a depressive state that left me wondering why I felt cut off from God.  I had no direction.

God directed me to the book of Proverbs and I quickly understood why. I read a few translations of the first chapter, but none of them spoke to me like The Message.

“Written down so we’ll know how to live well and right,

to understand what life means and where it’s going…” (v. 2)

I heard God very clearly say, “I’ve not left you and your faith is strong; you just stopped walking.”

Of course, I like to ask questions, so I was interested in understanding how walking was related to wisdom. The answer hit me like a two-ton weight: wisdom is by choice. We walk with God and we rely on him to lead us into truth and not into temptation.

Yes, wisdom comes from God, but we still have to choose it.  Having wisdom is knowing which path to walk and when to walk it.

We learn nothing if we don’t walk with God. He wants to direct our paths with his Word and by his Spirit, but if we are unwilling to take a step, we go nowhere.

Wisdom acts as the path to understanding what life means and where it’s going. Wisdom brings security, foresight, faith, trust and patience. If we can get all of that from simply walking, why don’t we?

Walking to stay in shape and walking with God are the same. If we keep walking and start seeing the results, it will truly be a walk to remember.

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Minister Ken Pettigrew is that guy that goes to art school, uses Apple products, wears Banana Republic, sings opera, and preaches in a Pentecostal church. A native of North Carolina, he is an impassioned Wake Forest fan, lover of Cheerwine, partial to Pepsi, loves biscuits, and will eat Bojangles’ any day of the week. More than anything, he is a lover of Jesus Christ and blogs about that love and everyday life at Sub Renovationis (Under Renovation)  He’s partial to running as his expression of the “shout” and is often seen “cutting a step” in public places. No shame. He loves liturgy and all of the bells, chants, smells, hymns, and reflections that come with it. He is a student at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, pursuing a degree in Vocal Performance.