Though I am writing this long before sunrise, I have every reason to believe that the day will be a beautiful one weather-wise. After some more Bible reading, another cup of coffee, and maybe a few minutes devoted to editing the book I’m currently working on, I will take my dog Jack out for a two-mile prayer-walk along some equestrian trails that meander through my suburban southern California neighborhood. The sky will be blue and the sun shining. Perfect! 

However, just last week it was a different story: several days of dark, cloudy skies and rain! What did I do those mornings? I took my dog for a two-mile prayer-walk just as if the sun were out and the skies were blue. By and large, this is a daily habit, part of my devotional routine, something in which I engage … whatever the weather.

As I conducted in my routine one morning last week, the rain pelting the waterproof wind-breaker and the baseball cap I was wearing, I was thinking about how that my daily prayer-walk is analogous to what we Christians often refer to as our “walk with Christ.” In the same way that I try not to allow the current climate to determine the dynamic of my devotional life, we shouldn’t be in the habit of allowing the current climate, figuratively speaking, to determine the dynamic of our discipleship. In other words, we should be all-weather followers of Christ rather than fair-weather Christians. Our walk with Christ shouldn’t be all that impacted by our external circumstances.

According to the Bible, there are some things we Christ-followers should be doing all the time, whatever the weather. For example:

• According to Luke 18:1-8 we should always “pray and not give up.”
• According to Luke 21:34-36 we should always be “on the watch” so as to be ready for Christ’s return.
• According to 1 Corinthians 15:58 we should always “give ourselves fully to the work of the Lord.”
• According to Ephesians 5:20 we should always be “giving thanks to God the Father for everything.”
• According to Ephesians 6:18 we should always “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests … praying for all the saints.” 
• According to Philippians 4:4 and 1 Thessalonians 5:16 we should always “rejoice in the Lord” and “be joyful”
• According to Colossians 4:6 we should always make sure that our “conversation is full of grace.”
• According to 1 Thessalonians 5:15 we should always “try to be kind” to everyone.
• According to 1 Peter 3:15 we should always “be prepared to give an answer” to anyone who asks us to explain the “reason for the hope” we have.

You get the idea: there are some things we should “always” be doing, regardless of the circumstances we may find ourselves in.

Personally, I could only wish that I was as constant in my spiritual walk as I am in my daily jaunt around the neighborhood. The fact is that all too often, I allow the current “climate” to control both my mood and my actions.

But I don’t want it to be this way. I’m committed to becoming the kind of person who has a vital, vibrant, faithful walk with Christ … whatever the weather. 

How about you?  

Something to think about.