Walk With Me — It’s Time to Grow
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.” — John 15:4
Last week, we began with an invitation:
It’s time to grow.
Not simply to know more about Jesus, but to allow what we believe about Jesus to increasingly become the way we live.
But where does that kind of growth begin?
Do we need to study more? Pray more? Serve more? Try harder? Become more disciplined?
Those things can certainly be part of spiritual growth. But I don’t think they’re where it begins.
Growth begins with relationship.
Before we can walk LIKE Jesus, we have to learn to walk WITH Jesus.
It’s possible to know a lot about someone without actually knowing them very well. And if we’ve been Christians for a while, I wonder if we can sometimes do the same thing with Jesus.
We know the stories. We know the verses. We know the right answers.
We may begin our morning reading Scripture and talking with God—and then close our Bible, get up from the chair, and spend the rest of the day operating as though everything depends on us.
We make decisions. We solve problems. We respond to people. We carry our worries. We plan our futures.
And somewhere along the way, Jesus can unintentionally become Someone we spent time with that morning rather than Someone we’re walking with throughout the day.
But Jesus didn’t simply say, “Learn about Me.”
He said, “Follow Me.”
That’s an invitation to a life lived together.
I love the idea of having a quiet time with Jesus in the morning. There is something precious about opening God’s Word before the noise of the day begins.
But walking with Jesus can’t end when we close our Bible.
What happens during the other twenty-three hours?
What happens when the phone rings with news we weren’t expecting?
When someone says something that hurts us?
When we’re trying to make a decision and don’t know what to do?
When the answer we’ve been praying for still hasn’t come?
When we’re irritated, disappointed, afraid, tired, or overwhelmed?
What happens when we’re folding laundry, driving to work, sitting in a waiting room, making dinner, answering emails, caring for someone we love, or lying awake at 2 a.m. with thoughts that won’t stop?
That’s where discipleship becomes real.
Walking with Jesus means learning to recognize that He is present in those moments too. And instead of immediately reacting, fixing, controlling, worrying, or relying on ourselves, we begin learning to turn toward Him.
Jesus, You’re here. What does it look like to walk with You in this?
Maybe that’s one of the simplest prayers of discipleship.
I’ve been thinking about walking with Jesus in three simple movements:
WITH Him → AWARE of Him → RESPONSIVE to Him
First, we learn to live with Him.
We stop dividing life into “God time” and “everything else.”
Jesus comes with us into all of it. Then, as we walk with Him, we become increasingly aware of Him. We begin noticing what His Word says about the situation we’re facing. We become more aware of what is happening in our own hearts.
Why did that comment bother me so much?
Why am I trying so hard to control this?
Why am I afraid?
Am I responding from truth—or from fear?
Am I trying to get my way—or am I willing to surrender?
And as we become more aware, we learn to become responsive to Him. Sometimes responding means moving. Sometimes it means waiting. Sometimes it means speaking. Sometimes it means remaining quiet.
It may mean forgiving when we’d rather hold onto the hurt. Apologizing when we’d rather defend ourselves. Trusting when we’d rather control. Serving when we’d rather be served. Obeying when our feelings are telling us to do something completely different.
That is growth.
Not perfection.
Practice.
We’ve talked about seeking Jesus. We’ve talked about following Him. We’ve talked about abiding in Him.
But here’s what I’m realizing:
We never graduate from those things.
A new believer seeks Jesus—and a mature disciple still seeks Him.
A new believer learns to follow Jesus—and a mature disciple still wakes up every morning needing to follow.
A new believer learns to abide—and maturity may actually teach us just how desperately dependent upon Him we really are.
Jesus gives us such a beautiful picture of this in John 15. A branch doesn’t produce fruit by deciding to work harder. It doesn’t grit its teeth and say, Today I’m going to be more fruitful. It remains connected to the vine.
Jesus said:
“Apart from me you can do nothing.” — John 15:5
That’s humbling. But I also find it incredibly freeing. Because spiritual maturity isn’t Christian self-improvement.
God isn’t asking us to transform ourselves into the image of Jesus through sheer determination. He’s inviting us to remain close enough to Jesus that He transforms us.
Have you ever spent enough time with someone that you started picking up some of their mannerisms? Maybe you started using one of their phrases. Laughing at the same things. Responding in similar ways.
There’s something about proximity that changes us. I think there’s a spiritual truth tucked inside that idea. The more time we spend walking with Jesus, the more His heart begins shaping ours.
We begin seeing people differently. Our reactions begin changing. The things that once seemed incredibly important may start losing their grip.
Compassion grows.
Patience grows.
Humility grows.
Trust grows.
We begin wanting what He wants. Not because we’ve mastered a list of Christian behaviors. But because we’ve been walking with Jesus.
And slowly, sometimes so slowly we don’t even recognize it at first, He changes us.
Maybe you’ve been thinking about spiritual growth and feeling overwhelmed. There is so much you don’t know. So much you still struggle with. So many places where you wish you were further along.
Can I remind you of something?
We’re not learning how to finish the journey. We’re learning how to faithfully take the next step. So don’t worry about ten steps from now.
Bring Jesus into this one. The conversation you’re about to have. The decision you’re trying to make. The worry you’ve been carrying. The relationship that’s difficult. The prayer that hasn’t been answered. The ordinary responsibilities waiting for you today.
Instead of asking only, “What should I do?”
Maybe begin asking:
“Jesus, how do I walk with You in this?”
And then stay close enough to listen.
This Walk With Me season isn’t about leaving behind everything we’ve already learned. We’re going deeper. We’re going to keep seeking. Keep following. Keep abiding. Keep choosing joy. Keep inviting others along.
Because eventually, walking WITH Jesus changes the way we walk THROUGH life.
And the more we walk with Him, the more we begin to walk LIKE Him.
Eventually, someone else may see what Jesus has done in us and need us to turn toward them and say:
“Walk with me.”
But we’re not there yet.
For today, let’s simply begin here:
Walk WITH Him.
Stay close.
Notice His presence.
Listen for His voice through His Word.
Respond when He leads.
And faithfully take the next step.
Because maybe spiritual growth isn’t about trying harder to become like Jesus.
Maybe it’s about staying close enough to Jesus that He changes us.
A Question for the Journey
As you move through your ordinary day, ask yourself: Am I simply believing in Jesus—or am I learning to live my everyday life WITH Jesus?
Then choose one situation you’re facing today and pray: Jesus, You are here. Help me walk with You in this.
One situation.
One prayer.
One faithful step.
And tomorrow?
We’ll walk with Him again.
Adventure awaits — will you Choose Joy?
With love and joy,
Laura
