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Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him (Colossians 2:6, ESV).
I know that Jesus walks with me and talks with me.
There are many verses in the New Testament that support the relationship that I have with Jesus.
Some of my favorites …
For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God (Romans 8:14).
May Jesus give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him (Ephesians 1:17).
If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:25).
Intimacy with Jesus is the hallmark of the Christian faith. No other religion presents a God who walks with us and talks with us.
The phrase “He walks with me and talks with me” doesn’t originate from the Bible (though it has huge scriptural support) but from a hymn originally entitled In the Garden, written in the early 1900s by C. Austin Miles.
The great-granddaughter of Austin Miles said it was written in a cold, dreary, and leaky basement in Pitman, New Jersey.
I believe that many great songs depict a hope that belies their actual origin – consider In the Garden written in a basement and the Apostle Paul writing about joy (Philippians 4:4) while in a prison dungeon.
Our greatest thoughts come from our basements, dungeons, and prisons! Peace can be found in these places too.
From the hymn …
I come to the garden alone,
While the dew is still on the roses;
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear,
The Son of God discloses.
This hymn became popular as a theme song for the Billy Sunday crusades held throughout America in the early to mid-1900s. Since then, it has been recorded by dozens of singers from all genres – country to classical.
And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own,
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.
Some of God’s best Psalms aren’t in the book of Psalms in the Bible.
They have been inspired throughout history. We have a God who walks with us and talks with us, and Psalmists through the ages have put to music their relational dealings with a personal God …
Consider A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, written by Martin Luther, who experienced intense persecution in his life and even spent time hiding from his enemies in a castle.
I love Rich Mullins’s Our God is An Awesome God, probably the most popular contemporary song used in worship services around the world during the last 30 years. This song was inspired by lost souls from the ’70s and ‘80s who needed to worship an “awesome” God.
All Psalms reflect a struggling but reflective walk with Jesus.
He speaks, and the sound of His voice
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing;
And the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing.
I listen to music as I write Interruptions. I look forward to new albums.
There is something living in our relationship with God, and He gives the gift of writing Psalms to contemporary songwriters who express in music His current ways to each generation.
I’d stay in the garden with Him
Tho’ the night around me be falling;
But He bids me go; thro’ the voice of woe,
His voice to me is calling.
I can’t stay in the garden forever, and neither can you. Our obligations and relationships require our presence. However, by taking time in the garden, by walking and listening to Him …
We find strength to continue our journey.
Remember …
And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own,
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.