Walking in Faith is LIVE on Amazon!
As a special treat to you, my faithful Refresh readers, I’m including the first chapter of Walking in Faith below/ It’s an invitation to a life of soaring, running, and walking with Jesus every day. I hope you enjoy it! Thank you so much for all the prayers, notes of encouragement, and faithful readership. Your partnership in kingdom work brings me JOY!
Fly, Run, Walk — An Invitation to Delight and Worship
My husband, David, and I were walking across a grassy baseball field one sunny afternoon when he pointed to a huge nest sitting atop one of the light poles that ringed the field. High above the nest soared two red-tailed hawks.
As we watched, a third hawk climbed to the edge of the nest and leaped. It flapped its wings, caught an updraft, and gracefully rose to join the others.
Who hasn’t wondered what it feels like to fly? What would it feel like to have the wind beneath my wings, the sun on my face, the rush of height and speed?
My Flying Experiences
The closest I’ve come to flying (commercial airline flights notwithstanding) has been riding a rollercoaster. Or maybe racing my bicycle at breakneck speed down the biggest hill in town. Braver friends than I have described parasailing adventures, hot air balloon rides, and skiing.
The next best thing to flying is running. Think of Olympians who churn forward on powerful legs, their feet barely touching the ground. Some sail over hurdles. Others pass batons to their waiting teammates. A few break world records and earn gold medals.
Walking Isn’t Glamorous
Walking, compared to flying or running, is decidedly less glamorous. One clunky step after another. Walking is often slow, methodical, and decidedly ungraceful. Tethered to earth by gravity, most humans spend day after day plodding from one place to another as we move through our daily lives.
I’m surprised Isaiah included walking in his glorious description of the believer who hopes in the Lord: “Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:31).
I understand why believers need supernatural help to soar. And to run. But why would we need God’s help to walk? Compared to flying or running, walking requires much less strength and stamina.
Or does it?
Most of us can probably describe a time when we soared—a season when all was right with the world and we were on top of it. Life was effortless and glorious.
We may also recall times when we ran with strength and speed. We tackled life’s challenges with seemingly boundless enthusiasm.
Flying and running days, however, are the exception for the Christian. As my pastor pointed out one day, we spend most of our life walking.
We Spend Most of Our Days Walking
Walking is the spiritual discipline of getting up every day and taking steps in the right direction. It’s the daily grind of life. The monotony and the minutiae. What we do when only God sees.
It’s choosing to walk with God faithfully, read His Word daily, and serve cheerfully.
It’s caring for family—day in and day out—for decades. Serving at a job or at home, preparing thousands of meals, spending long nights caregiving.
It’s working as unto the Lord, even if no one says thank you. It’s showing up with a smile and treating our bosses, customers, and coworkers with dignity. It’s acting honestly.
Walking is praying for days, months, and years for that unsaved loved one. Treating our difficult spouse with respect, and persevering in faith when all seems lost.
Walking is lingering in God’s Word and savoring His presence. Listening for His gentle whisper in our soul.
When we walk in faith, God works in us to make us more like Jesus. He fills our hearts with joy and grant us victory over besetting sins. Best of all, He uses us as His instrument of healing and hope to those around us.
Our Place of Greatest Victory
Flying is amazing. Running is glorious. But walking in faith, day after day, can be our place of greatest victory.
Thankfully, God promises that if we hope in the Lord and ask Him to supply the strength we need, He’ll help us walk and not faint.
Every single day.
Until He returns or calls us home.
Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
isaiah 40:31
If you enjoyed this excerpt, there’s lots more where this came from (LOL). Walking in Faith is available from these fine retailers: ChristianBook.com ($12.99), Amazon ($16.98), Barnes and Noble ($16.99), and Our Daily Bread Publishing ($14.00).
Your purchase during launch week is crucial. My goal (for God’s glory and the effective sharing of His Word) is to reach #1 in at least one of Amazon’s categories. If I reach this goal, Amazon will share Walking in Faith with other thoughtful readers who need the hope and healing we can only find in Jesus. Thanks for your help!
* This article is excerpted from Lori Hatcher’s latest devotional, Walking in Faith: 60 Devotions to Renew Your Strength, © 2026 by Lori Hatcher. Used by permission of Our Daily Bread Publishing, Grand Rapids, MI, 49501. Further distribution is prohibited without permission from Our Daily Bread Publishing at permissionsdept@odbm.org.
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