It was time for me to get a new Suburban. I had driven my 2004 GMC Yukon XL 457,000 miles.
The hour meter showed that I had spent over one year of 24-hour days in that leather seat. It still looked great. I had worked hard to keep it maintained and clean. I had purchased eight sets of Michelin tires. It had a few issues. One in particular I’ve yet to live down.
My wife, Kay, traveled with me to a speaking engagement in Texas. The summer heat was an unbearable 115 degrees. The air conditioner went out! By the time we arrived at the hotel, she was soaking wet. Now, anytime I mention Texas she says, “It is too hot there.”
After a diligent search, I found a dealership in Dallas that specialized in Suburbans. I wanted a low-mileage, clean, black Suburban. They had several to choose from. The salesman, Mike, was awesome. Without the typical negotiation tactics we were able to reach a good price. He asked, “Do you want to trade in your Yukon? We’ll give you the best price that we can.”
“Sure, but I know what I have,” I replied. When I revealed to Mike how many miles that I had put on my Yukon, he exclaimed, “What in the world do you do to drive that much?”
I was able to tell Mike about FivestarMan and what I do to encourage men. I shared with him how grateful I was for that Yukon. I said, “Mike, I’ve spent more time in prayer in that truck than anywhere else on earth.”
He said, “Neil, the earth is about 25,000 miles in circumference. You could have encircled it about 18 times!”
Your world is only as big as the trails that you travel.
There are a lot of men who have limited their world simply because they’re not willing to travel new trails. Their path is the same path they’ve always beaten. It’s easy to get in a rut and stay there. It’s difficult to cut a new swath. The greatest temptation in a man’s life is comfort.
I was working in a coal mine in Oklahoma when I had to make the decision to leave everything and go to college. It was hard. I had to quit my job, sell my possessions, pack my suitcase and move to another state. It wasn’t easy, but it was necessary. As I drove away from everything I was comfortable with, I prayed to God.
It was during that drive that I began to discover that God relates to men in the daily commute.
“The steps of a man are made firm by the Lord; He delights in his way” (Psa. 37:23-24, MEV).
I realized that my steps had directional intent—an overwhelming realization that God had a destination in mind for me. Some call it providence, while others call it destiny. This revelation encouraged me that God would be very involved in my decisions. Along with this new understanding came the personal responsibility to seek Him for guidance. This lesson has been extremely valuable for me and has given me the self-assurance that I am in step with Him.
1. Spend time with God in the cool of the day.
“Then they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden” (Gen. 3:8, MEV).
It had become a habit for Adam to walk with God in the cool of the day. We do not have sufficient evidence to determine how long Adam and Eve lived in daily communion with God before the horrific events of the fall. What we do know is his decision on that day would have a global and generational impact upon mankind.
Not only was Adam expelled from his management of the garden—the Storehouse of Seed, of which he was to “cover the earth” with the vegetation—he was also cut off from his daily commute with God.
It’s interesting that the day begins in the evening—when three stars are visible. The creation account always points to the evening and morning of the day. The cool of the day is referencing the evening, when the heat of the sun has gone down.
When you’re driving home from work, leave the radio off and ask God to prepare you for your responsibility as a husband and a father to be a blessing to your family.
As a husband, your words are like seeds that are sown for a determined harvest. Ask God to give you the right words to speak over your wife. You don’t know exactly what her day may have been like, but the Holy Spirit does and He will help you have the right words—the best words—to speak to her. As Solomon advised, “A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, and a word spoken in due season, how good it is!” (Prov. 15:23, MEV)
Rather than coming in and plopping down on the sofa, ask God to strengthen you so that you can go into the house with energy and excitement to be with your family. Before you turn on the evening news, get the news in your own world. That’s what matters most at home.
2. Determine that you will commute with God 365 days of the year.
“So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him” (Gen. 5:23, MEV).
I am very intrigued by the great-grandfather of Noah, namely Enoch. Although he was a prophet we have very little evidence of his life in our canonized Bible, although most Christian historians and theologians recognize his importance. Jude references him, “Enoch, who lived in the seventh generation after Adam, prophesied about these people. He said, “Listen! The Lord is coming with countless thousands of his holy ones …” (Jude 1:14).
What we can see is that he invested 365 years walking with God. The writer of Hebrews lists Enoch in the Hall of Faith, “By faith Enoch was taken to heaven so that he would not see death. He was not found, because God took him away. For before he was taken, he had this commendation, that he pleased God” (Heb. 11:5, MEV).
Enoch walked so closely with God that he didn’t experience death. He was the first person to experience what we would refer to as the rapture, the snatching away.
I’ve determined that I want to invest 365 days of each year walking with God. I don’t want to miss a day. I don’t want to wander or roam without directional intent.
3. Walking with God in the daily commute will give you promptings of future events.
“These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a just man and blameless among his contemporaries. Noah walked with God” (Gen. 6:9, MEV).
As Noah walked closely in communion with God—in the daily commute—he discovered that a great deluge, a water baptism of the earth was going to take place. The rest of mankind had given their hearts over to wickedness and violence. This cleansing was required in order to remove this scourge from earth. However, with this warning of things to come, Noah was given the blueprints of a large ship. Noah’s motivation is clear—he built the ark to save his family members.
Many people have the erroneous idea that Noah was a radical environmentalist and animal rights activist. Obviously, we should be diligent stewards of the earth’s resources and Solomon said that righteous men are kind to their animals, but Noah had one thing in mind when he spent decades building the ark—he wanted to save his family.
As you have a daily commute with God, you begin to think long-term. You’ll see further into the future. Your decisions will be more accurate for things to come. Your responsibility as the progenitor of the family will take on a keen sense of destiny.
4. Trust that God knows where you need to be to receive His best for you.
“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out into a place which he would later receive as an inheritance. He went out not knowing where he was going” (Heb. 11:8, MEV).
Abraham was given directional intent. Even though as he was traveling he didn’t know where he would end up. He did know there would be an inheritance awaiting him upon his arrival. He had to trust the Voice he was hearing. He had to have confidence that he was hearing from God.
Sometimes I meet men who don’t want to let go of their own plans. They’ve schemed up a good idea of what they think would be best for their lives and for their families.
However, I’ve learned that my schemes are not as good as God’s dreams for me. He has a greater capacity of imagination than I do. His ways are much higher than my ways. His thoughts are much greater than my thoughts. To be honest, that is probably one of the greatest challenges for men. To yield their lives and the lives of their family members to the purpose of God above our plans for ourselves or for our family members.
I’ve had to do that with my children. Now that they’re grown, I’ve had to sit back and watch God lead them in different directions. Sometimes, I want to raise my voice and say, “Are you serious? Do you really think this is a good idea?” Yet, I must allow them to develop an ear to hear the directional intent that God has for them.
Abraham had to “leave his father and his family household” in order to go to the inheritance that God had for him.
5. A typical day at work can become an encounter with God.
“He said, “Do not approach here. Remove your sandals from off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground” (Exod. 3:5, MEV).
Moses was very well-educated and powerful in speaking (Acts 7:22). He had a strong sense of leadership and justice; however, his first attempt to exercise leadership backfired. Now, exiled from Egypt and led into a wilderness, he had become a shepherd managing his father-in-law Jethro’s sheep.
During a typical day of work, Moses sees the burning bush that is not being consumed by the fire. As he approached to investigate the phenomenon, he encountered God.
Some men don’t realize how involved God is in their work.
As you’re driving to work, leave the radio off and have a daily commute with God. Ask God to strengthen your hands to prosper. Make the commitment that whatever your hand finds to do, you will do it with strength and skill.
Ask God to bless your company. Ask God to give you ideas and witty inventions. Commit to God that you consider your work as meaningful, not trivial. God made you a cultivator. Whatever you touch should be better after you’ve handled it.
6. When you’re facing your greatest challenges, it’s important that you walk with God.
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Ps. 23:4, MEV).
When David was a young man, he attended his father’s sheep. He spent nights under the stars strumming his guitar and singing Messianic songs. It was during those intimate and isolated times that David had to learn to “fear no evil.” It was during those nights that he wrestled a lion and a bear, protecting the sheep from predators. He would later take those lessons to the valley of Elah (Oak Tree), where he would face the champion Goliath.
Facing Goliath, David recalled his past experiences of victory over the lion and the bear, and he also recalled the anointing that flowed upon his young head when the prophet spoke over him that he would become a king.
When you have a daily commute with God, you will be reminded of the steps that God has guided you through. They may seem small now, but at the time, they were important lessons to learn. You will also be reminded of the important words of promise that you’ve received.
So, when you’re facing a big-time problem, you can know that God is walking in this valley with you.
7. Jesus descended so that He could walk with man.
“He said, ‘Come.’ And when Peter got out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus” (Matt. 14:29, MEV).
Peter and the other disciples had worked for hours, rowing to get across the lake. A storm was opposing all of their efforts. They were getting nowhere. As tired as they were, they looked over to see Jesus walking on the water, during the storm, making more progress than they’ve made all night!
Sometimes we read these accounts as if they’re fairy tales, yet this actually happened. You can imagine how frustrating it would have been to have worked all night trying to get somewhere, only to see Jesus passing you by without hardly an effort.
Maybe that hits close to home for you. Your life may be at the place where you’re tired of the opposition. You may have reached your limit, and you’re just frustrated with the lack of progress. You may be so ready to make progress that you’re willing to take steps you’ve never tried before. That’s what Peter did.
When Peter saw the progress Jesus was making compared to the lack of progress all his co-laborers were experiencing, Peter said, “Hey, if it’s really you, Jesus, invite me to walk with you” (my paraphrase).
Jesus came to this earth to walk with man in the daily commute. Jesus’ response to Peter was “Come.” In other words, get out of the boat!
Remember, your world is only as big as the trails that you’re willing to travel. {eoa}
FivestarMan was founded in 2008 by Neil Kennedy. Kennedy has passionately promoted God’s Word for 25-plus years of ministry. He is known for practically applying biblical principles that elevate people to a new level of living. As a business, church, ministry and life consultant, Kennedy has helped others strategize the necessary steps to reach their full potential.
For the original article, visit fivestarMan.com.
Joseph Mattera 
BJ Foster 
Shelby Bowen 
