“How To Walk With God”
Session Three
Part B
By Nita Johnson
NOLA Revival Services June, 2011
From last week:
Another day I planned to go up into the mountains with a friend and I was spending time in the Word before we left. Through the Word, the Lord said to me: I will make a way in the wilderness, streams in the desert. That scripture came to me in such an interesting way that I wondered why I needed to know that He was going to make a way in the wilderness. So we got in the car heading up to Yosemite, somewhere during the trip, in the middle of nowhere, the rear axle on the car broke. The person with me fell apart. I tried to calm her saying; let us not fret, the Lord has already assured me that He was going to make a way in the wilderness, and that is precisely where we are, isn't it?
To make a long story short, not only did He make a way for us in the wilderness (and this was before we all had cell phones) but two people also got saved. It was incredible how God orchestrated everything.
Several months earlier, I had done a very nice favor for someone whom I did not know. This woman found a picture of Jesus in a Christian bookstore that she wanted to buy but could not afford. I happened to be looking for something else, when I noticed her go over and grab this picture hidden between two display cases. I said: How did you know that picture was there? She said: Well, I have really been wanting it for a long time but could not afford it, so I just keep hiding it here until I can get the money to buy it. So I said: Here, let me buy it for you; I would like to do it. She said: But you do not even know me! And I said: But the Lord does and He knows you want that picture; let me buy it for you. Well, the girl thought I was an angel. It was so cute, because back then I still wore makeup and she thought I looked like an angel.
So back to the first story… I was in the mountains trying to get someone to help with our car. I phoned the operator and guess who answered? It was her. I mean, what are the chances of that happening? How many operators must there be in California? To make it even more remarkable, she was able to tell by the sound of my voice who I was. She said: Are you by any chance that lady who bought someone a picture a few months ago? I said: How would you know about that? She said: I am her!
Can you imagine that? I said: Wow, this is amazing! How are you doing? She said: You would not believe it. Did you know that I was running from God when I met you in the store? I said: No. You wanted that picture so badly! She replied: I know, but I was running from God and I thought you were an angel. I said: Are you serious? She replied: Yes! I really believed you were an angel until just now, when I realized an angel would not be calling on the phone. When you bought me that picture, I went outside and got in my car and cried. I gave my life back to Jesus. I enrolled in college and I also started a Bible study in my home for college students and we have many who attend. I told her: You are a marvel! So here I was, discovering ‘the rest of the story’ on my way to Yosemite Park, with the wheel axil breaking!
God did more than making a way in the wilderness. He also made streams in the desert. The Word is our comfort, is it not? I did not have time to get upset, frustrated or afraid because the minute it happened, that same scripture came back to me and I knew we were now engaged in God’s opportunity. That is what reading His Word is supposed to be to us. We spend time in His Word so He can talk to us. I promise He will speak to you if you spend time in His Word and the more time you invest, the more your hunger to spend time in His Word will increase. It is like prayer. The more time you spend in prayer, the more you hunger to spend time in prayer until He begins to consume your spirit with prayer and your mind with the Word. Deut. 32:47 “For it is not an empty and worthless trifle for you; it is your [very] life. By it you shall live long in the land which you are going over the Jordan to possess.”
What do you hope to possess? A new house or car? A new job? No. You are hungry to possess the land and the land is union with Christ. How do you possess the land?—by living by His Word, which is such an important facet of the journey. How can you follow Him if you do not know Who He is, what He is like—how He thinks and feels?
When I was managing a real estate office, we had one of the largest real estate Red Carpet offices in the country. I managed agents and trained them. I would tell them: If you want to be successful, one of the things you can do is to find someone that is very successful and model your career after them. This will help you. When I got saved and was called into the ministry—I thought that the same principle seemed right and good. If I want to be a great Christian, then I need to draw close to Jesus, master and learn His ways and make them mine. I found that this was not easy. The Bible says His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are way above ours—so it is not an easy process and because of that you must spend a lot of time in the Word. I would not even go to the grocery store without my Bible in hand. Everywhere I went, my Bible had to go, because I was so hungry for it that I would stop in the middle of the road, pull over and read some of the Bible. I could not stand to be out of it for more than 15-20 minutes at a time. I love His Word and I wanted so badly to learn Him, understand Him and to figure out what I have to change to walk with Him.
I went through a few trials and found there is no better book in the Bible than Proverbs, because it teaches you about people. You understand the kind of people to draw close to and the kind to stay away from, and even why you need to stay away from them. It also teaches you what it is like to walk with God. For instance, before I got saved I was a seeker of knowledge—I craved it even as a child. Even in the early years of elementary school, I would go to the library and check out at least 3 large books a week and read them. I loved to read and loved knowledge. As I got older, through my teenage and adult years, my quest for knowledge continued. But I found in Proverbs that the ideal was to crave wisdom, understanding and prudence. Before Proverbs I did not even know what prudence was. How do you crave something and not even know what it is? I had never heard of that word before. Now I craved prudence and knowledge not just about anything, but I craved the knowledge of God.
Proverbs taught me those things in addition to need to receive the Divine Understanding of God. You cannot walk with God without Divine Wisdom. You cannot live with Him without Divine Understanding—again, it is not enough to have an intellectual knowledge of God. You must also come into a place where you are experiencing a Divine Understanding that is filling your soul about His ways. When you understand His ways, you will not get angry every time something does not go your way. When you understand His ways, you will begin to realize He might be disrupting your ways to teach you His ways.
Proverbs is not just an old boring book. It’s such a vital piece of our walk with God. I spent years in Proverbs and it can help you get through any trial. It gives you so much information about how to walk with God. What does the book of Proverbs say? It says to search for wisdom as for hidden treasures. You need to open it up and dig them out. Dig out the Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding and Prudence of God. As you are digging, God is doing a work in you to help you receive it.
To be continued next week…
In His Amazing Love,
Nita Johnson
