Walkin' Down the Heavenly Road

Walkin’ down the heavenly road, I’m gonna lay down my heavy load,
‘cause Jesus said He’d walk along with me. Praise God! Glory, hallelujah!
I’m singin’ all the way; I’ve got sunshine in every day.
So why not come along and join me walkin’ down the heavenly road?

We used to sing that happy little chorus in prayer group when I was in college. It’s got a catchy tune, and upbeat lyrics, and was a general favorite on campus. But it’s not altogether true, is it? I suppose we are, figuratively, walking on a heavenly road, but it’s not all sunshine and singing along the way. The counterpoint to this song is found in Psalm 23:4, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” Some days are sunshine and singing, sure. Other times and seasons feel more like the valley of the shadow. The important part, though, is that He is there, walking with us, through all of it.
It’s interesting to me that we refer to a relationship with God as a “walk.” We get that from Scripture itself, of course. Throughout the Old Testament, the righteous are described as those who “walked” in the ways of the Lord. And in the New Testament, we are instructed to “walk” in the light. I think that Scripture uses the word “walk” so much because our relationship with God is not static. There is momentum involved. We are in motion, pressing toward a goal, as the apostle Paul might say (Phil. 3:14). And walking along with us, in good times and bad, is our Savior. As the song says, “Praise God! Glory, Hallelujah!”