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By his first birthday in August, he no longer needed a crutch. The wagon sat idle. He was on the move and had learned to walk—and fall.

My grandson, Declan, lives nine hours away, so I don’t see him as often as I’d like. When we traveled to see him in April, he was trying to crawl, but one chubby little leg wouldn’t cooperate. Each time he rose to his hands and knees, he’d tuck that leg under him and move to a sitting position. One week after we returned home, we Facetimed and watched him whizzing around the room on his hands and knees.

In June, Declan and his family traveled to my home for a visit. Declan—proud as a peacock—walked with the aid of a wagon he pushed back and forth. It was his safety net. As long as he held tightly, he moved about with a million-dollar smile on his satisfied face.

In God’s grace, it won’t be the first time he learns to walk—and learns to get up after a fall.

God has much to say about our walk, as using a search engine to find verses about walking with God will reveal. But searching for verses about walking with God in isolation is dangerous. God gives a list of “Thou shalt nots”—a list for our good and His glory. He teaches us how to walk. Just like a toddler, I have walked, fallen, and gotten up repeatedly. It’s a cyclical pattern. I pray I’ll be called a woman after God’s own heart—avoiding sin. Yet if that’s my only desire, I’m merely a sin-dodger, a works-driven legalist.

God wants more than our obedience. He wants our heart. A heart that desires obedience, born of a deep love. A heart that sacrifices our will for His. King David was called “a man after God’s own heart.” He walked, fell, and got up, doing so with humility, repentance, and reverence.

Don’t merely strive to avoid sin. Embrace God in your heart—a heart that swells with love for Him.

(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)

(For more devotions, visit Christian Devotions.)