July 2nd Devotion

Simplifying Your Spiritual Walk
By Skip Heitzig

I've discovered that in our spiritual life, it's hard for us to focus when we're constantly on the move. There are times we need to evaluate our priorities so we can get down to the irreducible minimum of what's really important. Because of this, God sometimes gives us a chance to slow down, catch our breath, let our souls catch up with our bodies, and find out what He's saying to us personally. During times like that, I'm often reminded of what Jesus told the church of Ephesus in Revelation 2: "I know your works.... Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love" (vv. 2, 4)—the simplicity and intimacy of your walk with God.

One biblical figure who demonstrated the simplicity of a walk with God was Enoch. Probably the main thing Enoch is known for is that he didn't die a physical death (see Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5). But beyond that, he left an incredible legacy. Genesis 5 tells us that "Enoch walked with God three hundred years" (v. 22). And Hebrews 11 says that "before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God" (v. 5).

Spirituality, in its earliest years, was simple: it was just having daily, intimate communion with God—consistently hanging out with Him, letting Him in on everything, and living to please Him (see Genesis 3:8; 6:9; 17:1; 24:40). And Enoch did that.

When pleasing God becomes the determining factor for the decisions you make—when the disposition of your heart is to say, "Whatever God would have me do, I'm going to do it"—then everything else becomes simple. As Jesus said, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33). All you have to do is look to glorify Him, live to please Him and walk with Him, and the rest will fall into place.

So are you walking with God today? Are you living to please Him? Or are you casually meandering, aimlessly bumping around here and there but not really seeking Him? Don't let your precious time on this earth keep slipping away without using it to refocus on your relationship with God, letting Him reveal and pull away any unnecessary, superficial things that are distracting you and complicating your walk with Him.

Think about this: If you lived to be over 300 years old like Enoch, could it be said you walked with God all that time? Perhaps the most dramatic testimony is that of the person who faithfully walks with God and lives to please Him every day, month after month, year after year, throughout a lifetime. So don't complicate your walk with the Lord. It really comes down to consistently walking with Him every day of your life—it's that simple