Each morning he reached out and took the hand of Jesus and renewed his pledge to trust Jesus to be in control of all that happened in his day. While he was able to feel more at peace within himself, it didn’t take him long to realise that he might see the holding of the hand of Jesus as if he were a child, yet he still had given himself the task of living his adult life in close co-operation with his God. He was not used to this joint operation.
This involved a constant conflict within his mind as he was still confronted with temptations and opportunities to allow his ego to promote himself to others. He realised he had to become closer to Jesus so he might be able to understand how he might react to these situations the way Jesus would.
He immediately turned to the Holy Spirit whom he knew was present within him. He had read in Scripture of the gifts the Holy Spirit gave to those who asked for them, so his first request was to get to know Jesus better.
He reasoned he no longer could just react in his normal way to given situations because with Jesus holding his hand, he knew that if he was to achieve the will of the Father it would be essential to understand what action Jesus would take if placed in the same situations he faced in everyday life.
He told the Holy Spirit he needed to think like Jesus so he could act as Jesus would act. He needed to be able to immediately recognise the differences in how he would react in given situations as against how he felt Jesus would act. In reality, he felt he needed to be able to read the mind of Jesus.
This walking with Jesus was a whole life-changing arrangement for him. Being constantly aware of who was holding his hand meant that his life slowed a little and changed, in that he became more aware of what was happening around him. He was able to question his proposed actions with a better understanding of how he believed Jesus would respond. Temptations still existed but could be quietly dismissed using the same process.
It became obvious to him that he needed the Holy Spirit to constantly support his endeavours and to guide him in his deliberations.
He recalled the lyrics of a song he heard as a youngster called, ‘I’ll Walk With God’.
I’ll Walk with God (From “The Student Prince”)
Constantine Callinicos, Mario Lanza
I’ll walk with God
From this day on,
His helping hand I’ll lean upon.
This is my prayer, my humble plea,
May the Lord be ever with me.
There is no death, though eyes grow dim.
There is no fear when I’m near to Him.
I’ll lean on Him forever,
And He’ll forsake me never.
He will not fail me as long as my faith is strong.
Whatever road I may walk alone,
I’ll walk with God.
I’ll take His hand.
I’ll talk with God, He’ll understand.
I’ll pray to Him,
Each day to Him,
And He’ll hear the words that I say.
His hand will guide my throne and rod,
And I’ll never walk alone,
While I walk with God.
I’m Peter Mack and that’s faith