I thought I was alone, figuring out
how to navigate this world.
Sometimes I walked in burning sun,
seeking shade or longing for sunset.
Or blasting winds would throw debris
over the path, hiding the way forward.
Crossroads scared me. Right? Left?
But then I sensed eyes on me,
a presence by my side.
Who was there, tracking me?
And I learned that I had a friend,
a companion and counselor
sent to me to share this journey.
He cares! He knows the master plan!
All I need to do is trust and listen,
holding his hand. Chaos cannot
tear us apart. His strength holds me
and since he has the map,
our shared purpose keeps us on track
in inclement weather or twisting paths.
He’s my Companion of the Road, always.
Sometimes learning another language opens up new worlds of understanding. Nyarafolo, spoken in a region in northern Côte d’Ivoire, certainly did that for me. One word that immediately nestled in my soul was kodanʔanyɛni: companion of the road. It means you have a close friend who is walking a certain path with you, sharing the experience. I thought of each special friend I’ve had over the years who has traveled a certain phase of my journey with me, often helping me carry my load—it sure made it easier, handing off some of my baggage! Then it also applied to the way the Nyarafolo believers sometimes took off walking in a parade from one village to another, coupled in a long line, singing as they went, a praise walk to testify to others of their joy in knowing Jesus. And I began to use the term as the salutation on all my prayer letters, sensing the true partnership of those who would be reading them and praying.
But most of all, I began to think about the “fellowship of the Holy Spirit” as I made my pilgrimage through life to the Promised Land:
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Cor. 13:14 NIV)
I understood Jesus’ grace, shown by his self-sacrifice to offer me unending life with him. And God’s love for the world and for me is what planned it all; it’s why he reached out to make me his child. But what did it mean to fellowship with his Spirit?
The Greek word behind “fellowship” is κοινωνία, which has a touching breadth of meaning depending on the context: association, communion, fellowship, close relationship, fellow feeling, participation, sharing.[1] Another lexicon adds close association in shared interest and shared community life.[2]
That describes a “companion of the Road!” When applied to the Holy Spirit, it means that he has a close relationship with you. Well yes! He lives in you! And then there is that close association in shared interest, and shared community life. You share an ultimate goal and all the “dailies” too. This close relationship is the most intimate ever! It is actually described on one of my life passages in the Psalms:
You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely. 5 You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. 7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. (Ps. 139:1-10 NIV)
No matter where I go, he is there with me. I could live in West Africa or in Michigan, flying east or west, north or south; he is in every place, not just beside me or following me, but holding me steady with his hand and guiding me! What a wonder this is!
I have felt that reality of having him for a walking partner here in Detroit. I have human walking partners for a short while during my morning walk, but the majority of my time I am alone with him. I ask him for prompts about how to vary my route so that it is never predictable to any bad guy (warned about that by neighbors). I am currently also walking a little Yorkie dog in order to help out a sick friend. Tiny “Hermione” runs up to almost every tree to sniff the trunk, runs out into the road to investigate a pile of stuff thrown out. Is a car coming? Is that a big dog across the street? So one day I chose to walk a different loop on Chicago Avenue since it was so busy with construction work the direction I usually take. I came up to a young man standing by a car, taking notes as he looked up at a mansion that was for sale. We greeted each other, as is the custom here in Detroit. Then he began asking me questions about the neighborhood, and shared that he recently got out of prison and is looking for a way to make some money, perhaps by rehabbing old houses. So I told him that we live on Burlingame (turns out he does, too!) and had that we had purchased our rehabbed house from a non-profit called Central Detroit Christian. I surprised myself when I added that they help people like him, just out of prison, find a way to get back into life and business.
As he wrote the name of the company down he walked back to get into his car, and I was prompted to say, “May the Lord guide you!” (I have never said that to a stranger before!)
He answered, “I think he just did!”
Wow! I thought about that as I walked home. My essential Companion of the Road had changed my normal route, using my instinctive protection of the Yorkie for a reason. He had wanted me to encourage this young man looking for hope!
As I walk the neighborhood without a human beside me, I try to use the time to pray: praise for his creative genius all around me, prayer for those on my heart, and stretches of quiet listening for my Companion’s guidance as I face the day. He knows my thoughts before I think them. He knows what is coming up in the next hours, when I can only guess. I may look like I am alone, but I am not. He is always with me, protecting me in front and in back, holding me steady with his hand, in conversation with me. An intimate relationship does require two-way communication!
The awareness of his promptings and his guidance comes with practice: it is spiritual formation that he wants to accomplish in us. We have to open the ears of our heart, because he is not visible and his voice is rarely audible. But that spiritual dimension is not just theoretical! It is unseen but experienced, and I can say with the psalmist, no matter where I am on the road:
“Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.” (Ps. 73:23 NIV)
You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. (Rom. 8:9 NIV)
The Spirit of Christ truly is the constant Companion of the Road for God’s sons and daughters–we live in the realm of the Spirit, even while we walk this earth!
[1] Gingrich, Greek New Testament Lexicon
[2] Danker, Greek New Testament Lexicon
Linnea's Lines 