Lace Up Those Sneakers: Let's Take A Walk With God

By Rita Cato Cochrane

Have you ever found yourself stumbling through life in search of God? 

If so, welcome to my tribe. This study is for you. We will walk together through the sagas of some perfectly imperfect heroes of Scripture and allow them to guide us:

• through difficult journeys
• to a more intimate relationship with God,

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: May 31, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685564537

Rita Cato Cochrane

Rita Cato Cochrane is a sought-after women's speaker, writer, and teacher. She lives with her husband, Mike, in Nashville, Tennessee, where she loves walking and hiking. Rita was raised in a large Christian family where life was never dull!She skillfully interjects personal and humorous stories from her life into her writing and teaching. Rita is a mother and grandmother and serves as the director of women's ministry at her home congregation.

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Lace Up Those Sneakers

Let’s Take a Walk with God

by Rita Cato Cochrane

Lace up Those Sneakers: Let’s Take a Walk with God

Trilogy Christian Publishers A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Trinity Broadcasting Network

2442 Michelle Drive Tustin, CA 92780

Copyright © 2022 by Rita Cato Cochrane

Scripture quotations marked ERV are taken from the Holy Bible: Easy-to-Read Version ©2014 by Bible League International. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org. Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™ Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without written permission from the author. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.

Rights Department, 2442 Michelle Drive, Tustin, CA 92780.

Trilogy Christian Publishing/TBN and colophon are trademarks of Trinity Broadcasting Network.

Cover design by: Natalee Dunning

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Trilogy Christian Publishing.

Trilogy Disclaimer: The views and content expressed in this book are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views and doctrine of Trilogy Christian Publishing or the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN: 978-1-64773-271-4

E-ISBN: 978-1-64773-272-1

Grateful Recognitions

To my husband, children, and family who never doubted my ability to write this book, even when I had doubts.

To my precious friends who have walked with me through every season of life, both the blessed and the painful.

To my church family who loves me unconditionally, encourages me faithfully, and builds me up for kingdom work.

Preface

I am thrilled you are joining me on this spiritual journey. As we walk through life, we encounter numerous challenges. This Bible study is designed to help us navigate each challenging step and bring us to a closer walk with God.

Since this study is titled Lace up Those Sneakers: Let’s Take a Walk with God, stop and reflect on the different purposes of walking. For decades, my husband and I have risen early to get in a rigorous mall walk. Most would consider the words rigorous and mall walk to be incompatible, never to be used in the same sentence. However, at 5:30 in the morning, we can be found running up and down the mall stairs and lapping all the other mall walkers. It could become a prideful thing, except the next spryest walker is twenty years our senior.

Sometimes, in the evenings, I join friends for a walk-and-talk. We chat about our day, our lives, our children, and our jobs. We share stories, encouragement, prayers, laughter, and sometimes tears. This walk is not for exercise but is social and spiritual.

Then, there are times I choose to walk just because I can! I’ve been known to drive around the parking lot to find a spot farthest from the entrance. My family thinks I’m crazy, but hey, sometimes I just want to walk.

Do you know why I haven’t mentioned running? I don’t like it! (Notice the exclamation mark.) Oh, I’ve tried it. My son talked my husband and me into running a half-marathon through the hills of Tennessee, and, believe me, Tennessee has lots of hills. By the grace of God, I finished the race that day, but it wasn’t pretty. There will be no more such silliness from me! (Notice another exclamation mark.)

So, I walk. Sometimes the walk exhausts me, and sometimes it energizes me. There are mornings I don’t care to walk, but with the encouragement of my husband, I walk. There are mornings I walk fast and mornings I can barely place one foot in front of the other. Sometimes, I stray from my normal path to a new route, and sometimes, I walk in autopilot mode, unaware of my husband walking beside me.

My spiritual walk with God, in so many ways, resembles my physical walk. Sometimes my faith is filled with energy and excitement in doing God’s will. But sometimes, I’m tired, burdened, my walk with Him is labored, and I need encouragement. There are times when my walk with God is purposeful and uplifting and times when I resent the path He calls me to travel. There are days when my spiritual walk defaults to autopilot mode and I give no thought to my steps, nor do I realize the presence of my heavenly Father right beside me.

So, come on, friend, lace up those sneakers and stroll with me through the stories of some amazing Bible characters. As we step into their lives, we will discover guidance for our own spiritual walk. And if we let them, these characters will lead us upward toward our heavenly finish line.

Blessings on your spiritual walk,

Rita

Theme Verse

Trust the

Lord

completely, and don't depend on your own knowledge. With every step you take, think about what He wants, and He will help you go the right way.

Proverbs 3:5–6 (ERV)

Walking in Darkness

with Abraham and Sarah

Trusting God When We Cannot See What Lies Ahead

Let’s set the stage for Abraham and Sarah: What happens before we meet this famous couple?

My childhood front yard always hosted the rowdy Saturday neighborhood kickball game. Having no referee meant any questionable play had to be settled without a fight, or else it was game over according to parental rules. So, to preserve the game, our solution was to call a sacred do-over. I call it sacred because do-overs are found in Scripture. Before we meet Abraham and Sarah, there has been so much wickedness in the world, God Himself called a do-over when He sent a great flood to eliminate evil mankind from the earth. Ten generations later, as humans increase and scatter, we meet Abraham and Sarah: God’s do-over people.

Through Abraham and Sarah, God birthed His new nation. Little did they realize of the uncertainty that came with this responsibility, for they would be called to walk in darkness, unable to see what lay ahead.

Before beginning this study: What do you hope to discover from Abraham and Sarah?

I am not aware of how much you already know of this do-over couple, but on the lines below, write any questions or thoughts you may have for later discussion.

Abram and Sarai Were Chosen by God

Before we begin, you should stop to read Genesis 11:27–12:9. Abram and Sarai were called by God prior to receiving their new names of Abraham and Sarah. God told them to go to a scary place. Where did God instruct them to go? See Genesis 12:1 and Hebrews 11:8:

What promise was given them by God? See Genesis 12:2:

Consider their implications of following God’s call, as the Lord told Abram to walk away from three precious provisions.

Their country. Abram and Sarai would be forced to exchange the familiar for the oddities and absurdities of a foreign land far from home.

Their family and friends. With my family living abroad, I know the comfort of seeing their sweet faces through technology. But for Abram and Sarai, following God meant they would never perhaps see their family again. Their nephew, Lot, became their sole family member.

Their father’s home. They left behind the security, comfort, financial backing, mentorship, and the established sphere of influence associated with their father, Terah.

Imagine yourself in the middle of Abram and Sarai’s life when God tells you simply to go to a land that I will show you (Genesis 12:1, NKJV). Wouldn’t you have