Adapted from The Walk, a Master’s Men Direction Bible Study by Tom Dooley
In 1911, stuntman Bobby Leach plummeted over Niagara Falls in a specially designed steel drum and lived to tell about it. He suffered minor injuries, but he survived because he recognized the tremendous dangers involved in the feat and did everything possible to protect himself from harm.
However, a few years after his plunge over the falls, Leach was walking down a street in New Zealand, slipped on an orange peel, fell, and fractured his leg. Leach was taken to the hospital where he eventually died because of complications from the fall.
Tragically, Bobby Leach found more danger on a sidewalk than in a barrel going over Niagara Falls.
Leach’s sad experience illustrates an important spiritual truth. Often, the greatest threats to our spiritual lives are things we consider small or insignificant. Ephesians 5:15-17 exhorts believers to “see that ye walk circumspectly.”
In other words, stay alert and avoid spiritual carelessness in our walk with the Lord.
A Discerning Walk – Ephesians 5:15
Walking circumspectly enables believers to discern between the foolish and the wise. Jesus taught us the wise person listens and obeys the words of the Savior, while the foolish person ignores Him and is ruined (Matthew 7:24-27). Though the foolish man is concerned with earthly gain, the wise man lives for the eternal, preparing himself for the Lord’s return (Luke 12:16-21; Matthew 25:1-13).
A mature believer will endeavor to walk wisely with the Lord, avoiding foolish and self-gratifying distractions.
A Disciplined Walk – Ephesians 5:16
Ephesians 5:16 charges believers to “redeem the time” as we walk with Jesus. Redeeming the time simply means to use every opportunity to glorify the Lord and share about Him. This requires great discipline but is imperative to our calling as believers.
Why is it important to redeem the time? Because “the days are evil.” In this dark world dominated by sin, we have the only solution. Jesus is the solution, and the world desperately needs to know Him.
A Direct Walk – Ephesians 5:17
Finally, to walk circumspectly with the Savior, we need a fixed direction. To find this direction worth following, we must seek God’s will for us. According to verse 17, the unwise fail to consider the Lord’s will.
Some time ago, a minister received a call from a church offering a position with a much larger salary than he currently received. He spent much time in prayer trying to discern God’s leading. One day, a friend met the minister’s son on the street. He asked, “Do you know what your dad is going to do?” The boy answered, “Well, Dad’s still praying, but Mom’s packing!”
We are not truly yielded to the will of God if we have already made up our minds about our direction, and we are only seeking God’s approval. As you walk with the Lord, be directed by His will alone to keep “walking in step with the Savior.”
