Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him.

— Deuteronomy 8:6

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” (Chinese proverb). Early one morning in April 2022, I took the first step on a hiking trip along the Appalachian Trail, which stretches from Georgia to Maine in the eastern United States. While enjoying God’s good and beautiful creation, I also meditated on the theme of “walking” in the Bible.

Since ancient times, walking has been the most common way for people to go from place to place. It’s no surprise, then, that walking is mentioned more than 200 times in the Bible. Whether people took short strolls or long journeys, they moved forward one step at a time. In the Bible, the Hebrew word for “walk” (halak) can also refer to following God and living for him in his world.

In Deuteronomy 8 we find examples of both kinds of walk­ing. God’s people had been walking in the wilderness for 40 years. And now, preparing to enter the land that God had promised them, they were reminded to walk in the ways of the Lord and to honor God in all they would do. And God promised to bless them abundantly.

Wherever we walk today, on short strolls or a long journey, may each step remind us to walk in God’s ways and to honor him.

Lord God, help us always to walk with you in our journeys near and far, seeing your hand in our world and striving to please and serve you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.