The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him;
Psalm 37:23, 31
The law of their God is in their hearts; their feet do not slip.
Thinking back to my days as a child and as I was growing up, I don’t ever remember my Mom slipping and falling or walking unsteadily. As I’ve watched her growing older, however, I saw her becoming more unsteady and getting to the point where she began using a cane. After she had a fall in her home, she “graduated” to using a walker, and now, even with a walker, her gait is not always sure.
Scripture talks about walking and running in a spiritual sense. When we exercise or play sports, our steps have to be firm and sure because our feet land on all different kinds of surfaces, some more solid than others…this is particularly true in winter with ice sitting quietly under the surface of fresh snow. Some surfaces give good traction, while others may be slippery or uneven. In our verses above, it tells us that the Lord will make our steps firm, and then they share the secret of firm and steady steps. We must delight in the Lord and make sure the law of our God is in our hearts. How can this happen? By making sure that our hearts and minds are pure and right with Him, asking Him to search our hearts and purify us from sin on a regular basis. He will in turn fill us with His life, energy and strength to take those steady spiritual steps in our life. He has given us His Holy Spirit to help us understand His Word and then to apply them to our lives in obedience and love for Him.
Romans 4:12 encourages us to follow in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had. 1 Peter 2:21 tells us that Christ left us an example, that we should follow in his steps. Our spiritual aging process actually works just the opposite of our physical aging process. As we grow in the Lord, our spiritual steps should become more and more sure and steady as we grow older. Paul tells us: Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16).