Living in Grace and Walking With God

But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.  These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.  –Genesis 6:8, 9 (KJV) 

I heard a story the other day that made me smile.  A Sunday school teacher asked, “Johnny, do you think Noah did a lot of fishing when he was on the Ark?” “No,” replied Johnny. “How could he, with just two worms?” That’s incredibly insightful for a child to think in those terms.  And while we would chuckle at the thoughts of a child’s perspective on the biblical account of the flood, we realize that he was taking the Bible seriously and saw the great flood as an actual event.  According to the Word of God, the Lord saw the evil that had developed in the world and sent a flood that covered the entire earth.  The only living creatures spared were Noah and his family, along with two of every kind of animal.   

Something that gets my attention about this is the fact that Noah was singled out among all people of the earth to be spared.  As the Scripture says, “Noah found grace…”  We also take note of what the Bible says about his character: “Noah walked with God.”  As followers of Jesus Christ we have the grace of God in our lives and like Noah, we too can walk with God.  What does that mean for us in practical terms?  Walking with God means that we commune daily with the Lord, stay in His Word, seek His will, live lives of purity, reject the idols of our day, resist the temptation to do evil, love one another, and reach out to others with the gospel.  For the believer, walking with God should be as natural as the actual act of walking.  We go through each day in the confidence and assurance that the Lord is with us, walking beside us, leading us forward, taking us by the hand, and lifting us up when we need strength.   

The grace of God in Christ Jesus means that we have been forgiven and that we are in the continual process of being perfected.  I am nowhere near the perfection that I desire to be, for like you, I continue to struggle with all sorts of issues and difficulties.  As long as we remain here in this world our struggle between good and evil will continue.  However, we know that when that which is perfect is come, Jesus Christ, and we see Him face-to-face, that we will be made like Him (I Corinthians 13:10-12).   

Until that blessed day comes, let us walk with Jesus, seek His will, and experience the joy, peace, and victory that the Lord brings.