Walking With God

I just finished reading Walking With God by John Eldredge. This book consists of some of Eldredge’s journal entries over the period of a year. This is not the type of book that would normally get my attention, but I felt compelled to pick it up and am really glad I did.

Eldredge really challenged me on how I view myself and how I talk to God. His journal reveals how he asks questions to God and how he receives answers. He develops thoughts on how we make “agreements” with ourselves that God never intended us to make, which keep us bound up and limping along with God instead of walking with Him.

Here are a few quotes that will give you the flavor of the book:

“The very things I’m doing to make life happen – all those things that feel so inevitable and unavoidable – are draining me and preventing me from finding the life God offers.”

“We are invited to become followers of Jesus. Not just believers.”

“Too many people approach scripture without an intimacy with God, and they either end up frustrated because they’ve gotten so little out of it or, far worse, amass an intellectual understanding quite apart from any real communication with God.”

“I don’t live. I get things done.”

“When it comes to our faith, we have to be careful that our earnest hope and desire don’t cause us to claim a promise God has not given.”

“We try to figure it out. It’s not the same thing as walking with God.”

Eldredge is very transparent in this book and I suppose that is what kept me engaged throughout this book. I am a big fan of Wild at Heart, but I have not been able to finish any other of Eldredge’s offerings. There were a couple places in this book where I think Eldredge is off base theologically speaking, but they did not distract from the book overall.

The book is broken up into daily entries and is very easy to read. If you’re looking to get a glimpse of how someone other than you communicates with God and be be challenged by it, I would recommend reading Walking With God.