I Would Walk 500 Miles ... And I Would Walk 500 More ...

You all know it I am sure ... so put the CD player on in your head and sing along ...

But I would walk 500 miles
And I would 500 more
Just to be the man
Who walked a thousand miles
To fall down at your door ...

Yes ... it' s that really catchy song by the Proclaimers. Steven Curtis Chapman did a fabulous remake of it a few years ago and changed some of the lyrics as he was writing an album about love. Check out his lyrics here. There is something so infectious about this song. You want to walk ... and you want to sing. Lets just focus on the walking for a bit. But as you read ... you just might want to keep humming ;)

In Genesis 3, we see that in the garden of Eden, God used to walk in the cool of the evening. As I read this chapter, I take from it the implication that God would walk and have fellowship with Adam and Eve. How do I get this out of that chapter? Well, when things went wrong, they hid and God called for them. Something was abnormal, something was wrong. And the thing that was different? They were hiding. So imagine, God walking and talking ... just loving to connect with his creation. And now ... his creation is hiding ... no longer walking, talking and connecting. Something is broken. Something is wrong.

Further on in Genesis 5, this idea of walking with God comes up again. Surprisingly, it is one of those areas we just love to skip over in the bible ... one of those long geneology lists we use to assist us in sleeping! However, don't miss this one. It's radical! In the midst of it (vs 21 - 24) we meet Enoch. Now Enoch stands out in this lineage because all his predecessors are said to have lived, whereas Enoch is said to have walked with God. Did you notice that?! Enoch didn't just live ... he was different. He walked with God. WOW. This is so important, that in the 4 verses that talk about Enoch, it mentions TWICE that he walked with God - just in case we missed it the first time.

We meet Enoch in just one other place. He is listed in the Hebrews Hall of Fame. The Heroes of Faith Chapter - Hebrews Chapter 11. In vs 5, it tells us that before Enoch was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. Wow! This is even cooler ... I not only want to walk with God - I want to be commended as one who pleases him. Don't you?! It gets even better yet! In the very context of discussing Enoch, the writer reminds us that God rewards those who earnestly seek him. Jeremiah 29:11-13 springs to mind here: "You will find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord." People, God is not playing Hide and Seek with us. He wants to be found, he wants to walk and talk with us - with YOU - with me! He created us and the plan was walk and talk and connect, right from the beginning. What do we learn from Enoch's life? There is a difference between living and WALKING. How much do we just live - caught up in the momentum of our days, as opposed to walking with God?

I was contemplating all this the other night and then decided I needed to play 500 miles (the SCC version - stop and click the link above if you have not read it already!). I ended up having the best worship time to this ... walking up and down in my room. It puts the biggest smile on my face when I listen to it. SCC rewrote it for his wife, but let's look at some of the lyrics in the context of walking with God. Hum along ... and come along ... let's WALK!

When I wake up, yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the girl (okay ... I am one - so I changed it!) who wakes up next to you.
And when I go out, yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the girl who goes along with you.

Does this sound familiar? Psalm 139:2-3
You know when I sit and when I rise;
You perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down.
You are familiar with all my ways."

What about, "you hem me in, behind and before. You have laid your hand on me ..."


Yes ... God is really mindful of walking with us ... are we mindful of walking with him? This song flips it ... so we live with the awareness of walking with him.

In verse two, the song continues ...
When I'm lonely, yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the girl who's lonely without you.

This is so bang on! Without walking with God we are lonely. The thing is, in this crazy world we live in, we try to stuff that loneliness void with as much as possible - be it tv, computer games, work. Pretty much anything that will distract us from the void. How many of us are just comfortable to "be" without any extras?

Pick up the beat and sing on ...
When I'm dreaming, yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna dream about the time when I'm with you ...

This reference to dreaming reminds me of several things. Primarily, it reminds me of David's heart in Ps 27. His "one thing". The one thing he could have if granted just one wish. What would you dream? David's dream, his one thing, is to dwell in God's house, gazing upon his beauty and seeking him (Ps 27:4). Secondly, it is a reminder to keep God at the centre of our dreams. This brings to mind a couple of scriptures:
"Seek first HIS kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well." (Mtt 6:33)

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; he who seeks, finds, and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." (Mtt 7:7) Jesus goes on to remind us that our heavenly father knows how to give good gifts to those who ask him. What dreams are you nursing, scared to trust God for? God knows our dreams, we can trust him with them because he loves us. He will not give us a stone when we ask for bread.

I just want to close this post with a reminder to you. God loves you. Get it?!
GOD loves you.
God LOVES you.
God loves ... YOU.

His desire is to walk with you. Walk with him ... talk with him. And as you do ... sing with me ...

But I would walk 500 miles
And I would walk 500 more
Just to be the girl
Who walked a thousand miles
To fall down at your door ...