Thursday, August 13, 2026

             In the Bible, our faith is often compared to walking.  Indeed, we can easily find the word “walk” describing our relationship with Jesus.  Walking well can mean that we are growing as disciples of Jesus—reading Scripture, praying, serving well and putting aside the old things and the sinful things.  Isaiah 57:2 says, “Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death.”  The word “walk” in Isaiah suggests a faithful, consistent journey through life as a follower of Jesus.  To walk well would mean there is a lifestyle of integrity, honesty and humility as we walk before the Lord and seek to serve Him well in the circumstances that we encounter.  We walk uprightly because God is the author of life.  Doing life His way is the right way.  As our Creator, God knows best for how we are to walk and live.  Walking uprightly and with integrity does not save us from our sins—such a notion is little more than “works-righteousness” or the idea that there is something we can do to make ourselves holy before the Lord.  Rather, because the Lord has saved us by His cross, we seek to live uprightly as thankful people for all that the Lord Jesus has done for us. 
            Walking uprightly brings a great blessing to us.  According to Isaiah, we “enter into peace.”  We will experience peace as we walk in God’s ways.  Peace does not mean we will never face adversity, trials or temptation from the enemy.  But it does mean we can remain faithful in our walk and not be pulled aside by every shiny or noisy thing that we encounter. We are anchored in the Lord and secure in him.  Like Jesus’ story about the two builders in Matthew 7:24-27, our foundation is upon the rock and not the sand.  Our lives have a foundation that holds us in place.  That foundation is Jesus—known and nurtured through Scripture, prayer, worship and our surrender to Him.  Psalm 15:2-3, 5 says, “The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor, and casts no slur on others...whoever does these things will never be shaken.”  We experience God’s peace in our conduct, our words and in our relationships with others.  Our hearts can be at rest and not anxious or fretful.
            There is a second blessing that we experience when we walk uprightly.  We find rest as we enter death.  Living uprightly means we can approach death confidently in Christ. We have no unfinished business or outstanding debts.  We have lived our lives each day like we were dying and could find ourselves in the holy presence of the Lord at any moment.  There is a gentle and seamless transition from the earthly to the eternal, from this world to the next.  We leave no holy or righteous words unspoken or deeds undone.  We know we can die in peace when we have embraced the gospel of Jesus Christ that shows us the power of the cross to save us from our sins and rebellion against God.  Death is not a curse that we fear but rather a road that takes us from this fallen world into the place that the Lord has prepared for us and all of His people—a place where peace and blamelessness are the norms. (see John 14:2-3).
            God has supplied us with many promises to help us walk uprightly and to live in peace.  All of His promises are answered affirmatively in Christ Jesus.  We can give thanks that this simple verse in Isaiah 57 grants us three blessings for today.  One, with His help, we can walk and live uprightly and blamelessly throughout the days we enjoy.  Two, we can live at peace with God.  Our sins have been cancelled and forgiven and we have been made right with Him by the cross.  And three, there is an everlasting rest and life that awaits those who belong to Christ.  The grave does not hold the last word or final claim upon us. Those who know and walk with Christ belong to Him and will one day be with Him.  Have a great Thursday!