Walking with God

This post is named for a book that I've recently begun reading by John Eldridge. Actually, I've only read part of the prologue, but was so blown away by this quote that I just had to post it. Can anyone relate?

I've spent too many years trying to figure out life on my own. Reading books, attending classes, always keeping an eye out for folks who seemed to be getting the hang of things. I'd notice that the neighbors' kids seemed to be doing well, and I'd think to myself, What do they do that I'm not doing? Their kids are in sports. Maybe I should get mine in sports. I'd walk away from a conversation with someone who seemed to be on top of th world, and afterward I'd think, She seems so well-read. I'm not reading enough. I should read more. I'd hear that a colleague was doing well financially, and quickly I'd jump to, He spends time managing his money. I ought to do that. We do this all the time, all of us, this monitoring and assessing and observing and adjusting, trying to find the keys to make life work.

We end up with quite a list. But the only lasting fruit it seems to bear is that it ties us up in knots. Am I supposed to be reading now, or exercising, or monitoring my fat intake, or creating a teachable moment with my son?

The good news is you can't figure out life like that. You can't possibly master enough principles and disciplines to ensure that your life works out. You weren't meant to, and God won't let you. For He knows that if we succeed without Him, we will be infinitely further from Him. We will come to believe terrible things about the universe--things like I can make it on my own and if only I try harder, I can succeed.That whole approach to life--trying to figure it out, beat the odds, get on top of your game--it is utterly godless. Meaning entirely without God. He is nowhere in those considerations. That sort of scrambling smacks more of the infamous folks who raised the tower of Babel than it does of those who walked with God in the garden in the cool of the day. In the end, I'd much rather have God.