October 18

Can two walk together without agreeing where to go? — Amos 3:3 BSB

There was a time, child of God, when the world held the chief place in your heart. God was not supreme in your life. You and He were at odds. But now, by grace, you have come to make eternity your main concern. In this, you and God are in agreement, for in God’s mind, eternity far outweighs time, just as the stars in the midnight sky far outweigh a grain of dust. There was a time when you loved the world and the things of time and sense. The earth and its pleasures were your home. You and God disagreed on this, for the Lord saw the world as full of evil, while you saw it as full of good. The Lord saw the world under His curse, while you loved its favor and blessing, seeking madly and wickedly to enjoy what God had condemned. How could you and He be in agreement?

To be in agreement with God, we must have His thoughts in our hearts, His ways in our souls, and His love in our affections. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. But they must become so. When God’s thoughts become our thoughts, and God’s ways become our ways, when we have the mind of Christ and see with God’s eyes, then we are in agreement with God, and we can walk together.

What does it mean to walk together? It means enjoying union, communion, fellowship, and friendship. As we come to agree with God, we walk with Him. He has set up a mercy seat on high, and when we are in agreement with Him, we meet with God at the mercy seat of the Redeemer. As our eyes are enlightened to see God’s truth, as our hearts are touched to feel His power, and as our affections are drawn to love the things of God, we meet with Him at the mercy seat. This mercy seat is sprinkled with blood, concealing the broken tablets of the law. There, God meets man in gracious friendship, enabling him to pour out his soul, tell his troubles, trials, and temptations. And every now and then, God sweetly relieves the soul by dropping in a gracious promise, applying some portion of His sacred truth, encouraging faith in His dear Son, and giving fresh hope in His mercy.