Before God

“Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God” 2 Cor.7:1.

There are three aspects of divine companionship. The first aspect is walking before God. “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.” Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations” Gen.17:1-5 [emphasis added]. Before this, God had promised to give Abraham not just a child but to make him a father of many nations, right? But Abraham was full of his own antics – very cunning and lies at the slightest opportunity. He entered a city with his wife and told her to say she was his sister. The father of faith was full of lies but he was the friend of God. What a resume! But that is the mix in a lot of our lives. We really love God but we have all sorts of rough edges. And now, God is saying to you like He said to Abraham, I need to take you into this land that I have promised you; so walk before Me and be blameless. Get rid of the lies, get rid of the cunning, walk before Me and be blameless. This reminds me of when I was much younger and the times I had to go to the market with my grandmother. After several times of me almost getting lost, the instruction was – walk in front of me. You know what that means? There may be things enticing you here and there and you really want to go; but if you tried going what will happen? A knock on the head will realign you. God is saying to you and I, walk before Me and be blameless.

The way it is set up is that there is a connection between walking before God and becoming a father of many nations. There is a promise God has for you; I do not know what the promise is, but God is saying walk before Me and be blameless, then the promise will happen. There is a connection between walking before God and walking into the promise. “Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God” 2 Cor.7:1 [emphasis added]. Holiness can be perfected in the fear of God. There are two fears of God – the reverential fear and the terrible fear of God. I know some people say God wants us to have the reverential of Him. I agree but God also wants us to have the terrible fear of God. The fear that will make you live a holy life is the terrible fear of God.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, help me grow in the knowledge and the fear of God so that I will walk worthy of the Lord at all times, in Jesus Name.