“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” Gal. 5:25
I have watched the boxer and his master for several years. Each Saturday and Sunday morning from 7 AM to 8 AM they faithfully showed up at the high school to walk the track while I’m on my prayer walk. Initially, the master would take off his dog’s leash and let him run wild while the master walked the track with coffee cup in hand. The boxer would race far ahead of his master, chasing birds and bunnies, eventually circling back to the master, only to charge ahead of him once again. It annoyed me because there’s a sign posted on the gate saying that no dogs were allowed. It also annoyed me because I wanted to walk the track myself and couldn’t when they were there. At times, in my self-righteousness I thought about confronting him or even calling the police to have him removed, but mercy triumphed over judgment. My annoyance, however, kept me from seeing what the LORD wanted me to see.
Over time, the master began to keep his boxer on the leash. It was retractable, so he gave his dog plenty of length to walk ahead or lag behind. The dog was still distracted by birds, bunnies, cars, and people. He would sit when he wanted to sit and go when he wanted to go. The gentle master, coffee cup in hand, patiently waited, never uttering a harsh word. This went on for about a year. The Lord redirected my prayer walk in a better way, but inside I still railed at the man’s rebellion to the rules.
This morning, I went down to the track, and once again, my nemeses were there, but this time things were strikingly different. The man and his dog walked closely tethered with a leash of only about 2 feet long. When the master stopped, the boxer stopped and sat at his feet patiently. When the master started walking, the boxer started walking. There were no commands given. There were no rewards for good behavior. There was no tugging on the leash. The boxer offered no resistance. He was no longer given to distractions, and expressed no desire to run wild. He was content walking beside his master in perfect submission. I watched them circle the track again and again with the boxer keeping in step with his master. Together they walked in perfect oneness.
Then Holy Spirit whispered, “That’s abiding. That’s what keeping in step with Me looks like. That’s what it means to be led by Me. That’s maturity.” I thought about the seasons of my life as a believer when I charged ahead of my Master, doing what I wanted to do for Him instead of following His lead. I thought about the many times I’d given myself to distractions and had taken my eyes off of Him. For years I had been beholden to churches, driven by religious mandates, and had followed pastors instead of following my Master. How often had I quenched His Spirit by choosing my will over His, stopping when I wanted to stop and going when I wanted to go. How many times had I defied His commands, justifying it with “Everything is permissible to me.” Through it all, He had been so patient with me. Now, I clearly saw His call to maturity – to walk in oneness with Him as Jesus did with His Father, only doing what He saw His Father doing and only speaking what His Father gave Him to say.
As His light revealed my willful walk, I was humbled unto repentance. The very thing that once stirred me to judgement and annoyance became the thing that the LORD used to reveal the log in my own eye.
“Forgive me, LORD for my rebellious ways, charging ahead of you, taking my eyes off of You, and going my own way. I have given myself to distraction. I have leaned on my own understanding. I have been beholden to other masters. I surrender afresh to Your love, Your will, and Your way. I want to abide in You, keep in step with You, and walk in perfect oneness with You, stopping when You stop, moving ahead when You move. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and have Your way in me. Help me to keep in step with Your Spirit.”
~Lisa Moore