In His Stride: Can Two Walk Together, Except They Be Agreed?

By Ann Kegley

Living in the kingdom of God is a way of life foreign to living in the world. No longer guided by our perspective, by faith we learn to live according to His. With the renewal of our minds, guided by the Holy Spirit, we are enabled to fulfill His plan for our lives as we learn to walk in His stride. Only in this way are we able to achieve His objectives on the earth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Sep 10, 2015
• ISBN: 9781512706215

Ann Kegley

After years of multiple economic challenges, contrary relationships, and diverse adversities, Ann learned that the most secure means to live the life of faith is with a sole reliance on the Lord.   In this book, she describes how walking by faith and not by sight becomes a progressive experience of launching into the unknown, which requires the certainty of His anointing.   Ann currently lives in New England where she enjoys reading, writing, gardening and the surrounding natural beauty.

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Copyright © 2015 Ann Kegley.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture taken from the Amplified Bible, copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-0622-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-0623-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-0621-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015912200

WestBow Press rev. date: 09/03/2015

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 Learn of Me

Chapter 2 Perception of Reality

Chapter 3 Perception of Adversity

Chapter 4 Perception of You

Chapter 5 Breaking Your Stride

Chapter 6 Regression

Chapter 7 Rate of Transformation

Chapter 8 Breakdown of Compromise

Chapter 9 The Wait

Chapter 10 Faith under Construction

Chapter 11 In His Stride

A Personal Note

From the time he was just a little boy,

he understood spiritual things

in ways few people understand.

Even as a child he knew the Lord,

and talked about Him with ease.

As he grew, he lived for God,

shared His love with those he met,

and daily walked in His stride…

until God took him home.

With all the love I could possibly express,

I honor my precious nephew, Damon.

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INTRODUCTION

C an two walk together except they be agreed (Amos 3:3 KJV)? When God asked this question, He was speaking through His prophet, Amos, to the nation of Israel. After delivering them from the slave camps of Egypt and providing for them during their forty-year exodus through the desert, they remained defiant and rebellious toward Him. After tolerating their flagrant disregard of Him, total infidelity toward Him, and complete non-compliance with His plan for their lives, He asked this rhetorical question. He knew the answer, but did they? Without their cooperation, there was no way He could fulfill His promise to them—a land of their own where they could be free, live in peace, and dwell with His blessing.

Through His prophet, Isaiah, God described the same dilemma: Ready was I to answer men who never asked me, ready to be found by men who never sought me. I cried out, ‘Here am I,’ to folk who never called to me. I have stretched my hands, all day, to unruly rebels, who lead a life corrupt, pleasing themselves, a people who provoke me to my face continually, by sacrificing in their groves, and burning incense under the white poplars… (Isa.65:1–3 Moffatt).

After multiple attempts to reconcile with the people of Israel for a divine unity as their God, He posed the question: Can any two walk together (and remain together) except they be agreed—unless they be of the same mind? He was relentless to express His devotion to them as their God, but continually they responded with unwavering apathy and defiance.

God poses the same question to us. Are we with Him or are we not? Is the faith we say we have in Him or is our faith directed toward another—something else or someone else? Is our faith in Him or in ourselves toward the achievement of our goals? Are we continuing the same pursuits of happiness we had in the world, only now expecting God’s help to get us there? Since those who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God, it is important we understand whose drumbeat we’re listening to and according to whose directive our steps are being ordered. Are they His or ours? There is a difference—a huge difference.

When we receive Jesus, He delivers us from our own personal Egypt. We make our exodus from the bondage of this world to the liberty of His kingdom. We enter into a covenant with Him and agree to live in compliance with Him as He promises the same. He says, If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what advantage is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses himself or is cast away. For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels (Luke 9:23–26).

In essence, upon surrendering our lives to God, our former lives are put to death. Water baptism is symbolic of that death. The new life we receive, we live by Him and for Him—for the propagation of His purposes on earth, individually and corporately as His church. As Paul said to the Galatians: I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me (Gal. 2:20).

Following His resurrection from the grave and immediately prior to His ascension to heaven, Jesus commissioned His followers to go and preach the kingdom of God throughout the earth. God has much to say to those who know Him, but He has much more to say to those who do not know Him. He wants them to know His Name and what His Name implies. He wants to give them truth, Himself, which brings life, that only He can give. He wants to set them free from the blindness of deception, and the oppression it brings, which permeates the earth. Paul admonished the Romans of the necessity for the Word of faith to be heard by those who yet had not heard: For ‘whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved’ [Joel 2:32]. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things’ [Isa. 52:7] (Rom 10:13–15)!

God works His will through His people, the whosoever will follow Him. Living in us, He makes known His name to all who hear His Word. As God spoke through His prophet: "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He reveals His secret unto His servants, the prophets" (Amos 3:7 KJV). Even today, God speaks only through those whom He calls—those who live in His Name and by His Word, those who walk in agreement with Him.

Walking in agreement with God requires we deny ourselves, redirect our attention from our self-made plans, and reorient our focus on Him. From Him we discover the path for our lives. Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new, as Paul said to the Corinthian church (2 Cor. 5:17). As we mature, our understanding of God and His purpose for our lives broadens. His expectation of us becomes greater as He dispenses His will to us. The longer we walk with God and the more mature we become in Him, the more we can expect our lives to change. No longer do we see the same, hear the same, nor conduct our lives the same as we did prior to when we chose to follow Him. In essence, we no longer walk out of stride of Him. We become one with Him, in agreement with Him. We learn to walk in His stride.

Learning to walk with Jesus requires our stride to be broken—the path we walk, the pace we walk, the length of our steps, when we start, when we stop, and when we pause for a while. We learn to take our cues from Him, under every set of circumstances. We learn to be led by Him. This requires courage, faith, sensitivity, obedience, patience, and endurance. It requires relinquishing our tendency to be influenced by all contrary perceptible conditions and the omens which adversely affect us. We refocus our attention on the spiritual realities we learn from God. In other words, we courageously walk by faith (in Him) and not by sight (our understanding) as we allow Him to break our stride and teach us to walk in His stride.

When we walk in His stride, we walk in agreement with Him. We become one with Him—in spirit, mind, and body. Only then we are able to work with Him effectively as He builds His church throughout the earth.

Chapter 1

LEARN OF ME

C ome to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light (Matt. 11:28–30).

As Jesus spoke to the whosoever during His days, He continues to speak to the whosoever of today. With compassion, He addresses those who are ensnared and enslaved in the arduous labor of an exhausting, heavy laden life of bondage to the culture of this world. He offers a way out of the rat race. He offers a different way—His way, a way ensuring rest to the weary soul. But it’s our choice.

When Jesus says to take up your cross and follow Me, He is not speaking to everyone. He speaks only to whosoever will deny themselves, commit to Him, and willingly learn of Him from Him. To attain the rest for our souls, He teaches us to walk in His stride.

There is a pervasive misconception of Jesus that He went around begging and pleading everyone to follow Him. He didn’t. He didn’t then, and He doesn’t now. Jesus is not the limp-wristed, wimpy, wanting, desperate, glaze-eyed Savior seeking acceptance from the multitudes, as He is portrayed in Hollywood movies. Jesus never compromised who He was. Still doesn’t. He doesn’t have to. He is God. There is a clear distinction between an individual who actually is a wimp from someone who is meek and lowly in heart, as Jesus described Himself. The world typically misinterprets humility for weakness. Yet Jesus, meek and lowly in heart, claimed to be God. and later proved it by His resurrection from death. This Jesus asks us to learn of Him.

God expresses His perspective through the Apostle Paul as he describes a paradox to the Corinthian church: For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and the things which are despised has God chosen, and the things which are not to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence (1 Cor. 1:26–29). Therefore, He, being God, sets the benchmark for what is and for what is not, who we are and how we are, as well as what we attain as sons of God. One need not be loud, arrogant nor self-promoting to have integrity or to achieve worthy goals, as too often the world esteems.

As I write this paragraph, Neil Armstrong, the first man who stepped on the surface of the moon on July 19, 1969, is being memorialized today, August 31, 2012. Reporters and commentators covering this news event described Neil Armstrong as a man who did not consider himself to be a hero. Nor was he desirous of all the accolades he was extended. In fact, he accepted very few invitations for interviews and other public forums, because he considered his infamous role as simply doing his job. He was a modest and humble man who did not sell out for worldly fame and fortune, although the temptations were there. It so happens to be the same date the blue moon will be displaying its rare light. The family asked the public to go outside tonight, look up at the moon, and give a wink as a commemoration to their father; to honor him for his astounding mission and achievement. Neil Armstrong was also a godly man, who referenced his creator during the lunar expedition. Perhaps God was the one who selected this man for the role he had in this historical event. God chose His man for this purpose. As David reminds us, God orders the steps of the righteous (Ps. 37:23).

To those who are drained by the vanity of this world’s rat race to nowhere, Jesus extends His incomparable offer of rest to the whosoever will and says to them, Learn of Me. He who described Himself as meek and lowly in heart is also He who opens the door to eternal life. He ensures He is the only one who can give it to them, those who hear My voice (John 10:27–28). He proved it when He resurrected from death. Although Jesus addresses everyone who approaches Him, the decision to accept His invitation to Follow Me, is made by whosoever is willing to walk with Him. He always works this way—making an offer which is either received or rejected. The choice is ours. The invitation to live with God was made from the beginning, with the first man, Adam. The offer was contingent on his compliance with God’s will—to walk in agreement with Him. Adam had the freedom to choose, and we all know what choice he made, as well as the consequences that followed.

The same invitation was made to the people of Israel through Moses after He delivered them from Egypt. In His covenant, God described the terms and conditions of His blessing, clearly denoting they were free to choose to serve Him. It was not a mandate from Him (Deut. 30:19). The choice was for the whosoever will make the decision to walk with Him. History records the choice they made and the subsequent consequences that followed.

Whoever follows Jesus makes this same choice, to walk with Him. However, there is a surprising little help in this decision. John, the beloved disciple, describes a time Jesus responded to a group of skeptical, complaining Jews. He said, No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God’ [Isa. 54:13]. Therefore, everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me (John 6:44–45). In essence, Jesus tells them that God the Father selects those whom He wants, places the ‘draw’ within them, which enables them to make the choice to follow Jesus, His Son. Then Jesus responds to those who the Father has given to Him as Savior, as Lord, and as the gentle shepherd who leads His sheep home.

As Paul wrote to the Romans: For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified (Rom. 8:29–30). God predestines those He calls. Through Jesus, they are justified. And through the Holy Spirit, they are glorified. From the time we enter God’s kingdom, we enter this process of glorification: to be conformed to the image of His Son, as He said He would. Paul summarizes this clarification and concludes: What shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us (v. 31).

To enter the rest Jesus alluded to as we follow Him, He says to, learn of Me. The only way to learn of Him, as with anyone, is to spend time with Him—communicating with Him directly, which evolves into a genuine relationship of commitment. We certainly can learn about Him by reading the accounts of His life written in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We also can reap volumes of inspiration from the writings of Paul. However, a vicarious description of Jesus does not compare to the effects of a direct and personal relationship with Him. Communication is necessary, both ways—we to Him and He to us, which builds a strong relationship of love. The Apostle Paul knew the difference from his experiences with the Lord, from before his conversion to after. He whom Paul thought he knew before meeting the Lord certainly was a different Jesus he came to know after meeting Him. This is how he was able to share amply the rich and manifold revelations of wisdom and truth we read in his letters, which he received from Him.

Upon immediate exposure to the life of Jesus, it is obvious He is not an ordinary man of the world, one who had been conditioned by the world—a man caught up in ego-centrism, power trips, arrogance, or self-motivated agendas. Instead, He is quite opposite, meek and lowly in heart, which is refreshing compared to the vanities displayed by the carnal nature of man in the world. Clearly, Jesus is humble, gentle, and genuinely compassionate toward His fellow man. But most of all, He is committed to His Father and lives His life according to His Father, whom He loves—even to the point of death. It is this man Jesus who asks us: Follow Me and learn of Me.

We learn of Jesus so we can know Him, as He is. We learn to understand Him, how He thinks, and why He does what He does. We learn why He doesn’t do what we might think He would. But ultimately, we learn of Him to be like Him. This is the objective of our existence. This meek-and-lowly-in-heart Jesus took up His cross and bore it when He walked the earth. He bore His cross metaphorically even before He hung on it to die. And He did it all for us, we who believe in Him.

When Jesus calls us to follow Him, He calls us to do the same—deny ourselves and take up our cross. Our cross is