When I was growing up, my mother would
constantly tell me to “walk right.” She was referring to the way my feet point
out when walking. I am “duck-footed” when I walk. I can remember trying to get
my feet to point forward when I walked. I could do it for a while if I was
really concentrating hard. The truth is that after doing that for a bit, my
knees really started hurting me, and the pain was not worth the walk for me. I
realized early in my life that in order to walk right, it takes effort and
sometimes some pain.

Today I read, “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me [God]; and to him that ordereth his conversation [behavior] aright will I show the salvation of God”
(Psalm 50:23). There are two things that God asks from us in this verse that I
think He is well-deserving to receive. Frist, God asks us to offer praise to
Him. That should not be hard. There is much to praise God for every day. When I
am able to wake up, and breathe, and my heart is still pumping, and my legs
still work, and I can see, and hear, and speak … I think you get the picture.

If there is so much to praise the Lord
for, then why is it that it seems hard to praise Him? I don’t think it is hard
to praise Him. I think our problem lies in the fact that we don’t often take
the time required to praise Him correctly. The fact is that God deserves far
more praise than we can give Him, but He still deserves the praise from my
lips. Beyond my lips, my life should offer praise to Him as well. That leads me
to the second thing that God asks from me that is found in this verse.

The second thing that should come from my
life is my behavior (or “conversation” as it is referred to in this verse).
This is where the title for the devotional comes from today. I need to simply
walk right. I need to have behavior that matches the praise that comes from my
lips. You have heard it said before that people will see what I do far more
than they hear what I say. My actions will definitely speak louder than my
words. Because this is true, I want to walk in such a way in the world that I
am living, that others will see a difference, and be drawn to my God.

Today I want to make the goal of walking
right – of speaking right – of having a right attitude that is followed by
right actions. My life is not my own. I have a God Who has redeemed me and has
allowed me to continue to live by His grace and mercy every day. I need to use
this day to bring praise to God with my voice … and the way I walk!