What You Are Missing by Googling God - Steps

The breakneck speed at which we do life has made one of the Bible's simplest teachings almost foreign to us.  Steps.

We are driving, texting, talking, and updating.  Our pathways are guided by intricate systems which communicate our exact coordinates to global positioning satellites instantaneously.  We are told where to turn and exactly what time we are projected to arrive at our destination.  For the most part, we are unaware of our surroundings as we do life at smartphone speed.

When the writers of Scripture describe life you can tell that they lived at a different speed.  They use words like "walk" and "steps."  When Paul says repeatedly in his letters for us to "walk worthy (Ephesians 4:1 or Col. 1:10)", he is not only admonishing them to pay attention to how they live, but he is reflecting life's speed.  They walked everywhere they went.  Walking was a way of life.

David says in Psalm 37:23 that the "steps of a man are established by the Lord."  In Psalm 119 the Word of God is illumination for the writer's feet and a light for his path.  Again, the proximity of the verse suggests life at close range, at walking pace.  Later in the same chapter, verse 133, the writer asks the Lord to, "Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me."

Because we have grown accustomed to life at digital speeds we want instantaneous results.  Yet we forget.  We may be able to Google information, but you cannot Google holiness.

Because we are guided by GPS we can drive to any destination and have no idea how we got there.  Life with the Lord is not merely about arrival at a destination, it is about steps.  It is less about praying about where we want to be and more about paying attention to where we are and how the Word of God applies today.

We need to be asking more questions like "What's next?" rather than questions that begin with "When?"  Your phone may know exactly "when" you will arrive, but God is less concerned with the "when" and more concerned with the steps.

In the past we asked for directions.  Now all we want is an address.  In later days we received directions based on scenic milestones.  Turn at the barn, over the hill.  There is a massive oak tree in a field.  Now we drive to an address and see nothing.

The Bible wants you to see what's along the way and take time to think about why it is there, who built it, what's the story, and what does it say about the next step?

We may live a multi-tasking digi life, but somehow we need to break it down, especially our journey with the Lord, into steps.  Slow it down.  Be deliberate with the day.  Become less frustrated with where you want to be, and more intentional about where you are.

Read the Bible not because you are "supposed to" but because you are looking for something to guide you today.  When you read a verse dare to ask why it is now a part of your day.  What is God saying to you today about that verse?  What is God saying about your day, through that verse? 

Pray about less general things and ask for more specific things.  Talk to God about people you will see today.  Quit asking about God's will for your life and start asking Him about His intent for you today.  Prayer and the Bible are not merely us giving God our coordinates.  God's intent is for these to be vital windows into today.  Stop Googling God looking for instant answers.  God is less concerned with supplying you an instant answer.  He is more concerned with directing your steps.

Walk with the Lord.  All you need to do today is take a step.