Genesis 5:24 - And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
What a privilege to be invited to walk with God. Walking is natural and normal to life, so we are being encouraged to take our natural, normal life and use it to walk with God. Take your life and align it with His; Enoch with God; the natural with the spiritual; the common with the uncommon; the human with the divine. When there was no mention of any of his peers walking with God, Enoch chose a path and a direction in life by choosing to walk with God.
We are not born with the ability to walk; the potential for it is there, but we must develop and grow into that skill. Our muscles must develop, and our balance must improve before we can begin. To walk implies that we have started on a path of growth. It is a great day in the home, when the little child takes its first steps; everyone gets excited. We can only imagine how God must also get excited when His little ones develop to the point where they are not being carried but are choosing to walk and carry their own weight.
Man is created to walk upright; we do not crawl forever. In fact, if your child does not start walking by a certain age, there is great reason to be concerned; something is wrong. Walking brings with it new-found freedom for the child, and, simultaneously, it brings a lot less freedom for the parents. The child has become much more active, mobile and able to choose directions and locations. Even though it is more difficult for us as parents, we want our children to mature and begin making some of their own decisions; it is our will for them. They are designed to stand up and to stand tall and to make choices.
Enoch chose to walk, but he didn’t walk alone; he wanted to accompany someone, and he wanted the company of another; he decided to walk with God. To be with someone implies relationship, friendship and partnership. Being with someone also necessitates a proximity; we cannot walk with another if there is distance between us. Unlike many today, Enoch did not desire to be a loner; he did not isolate himself; he chose companionship; he chose someone to walk through life with. Who you choose to walk with is vitally important and Enoch revealed his inner character by choosing God.
The fact that we can walk with God says a lot about God’s heart. If I have a young child and the child wants to walk with me, I will have to adjust for that to happen. I will have to lower myself, come to the child’s level and slow down my pace. No good father will think it is a burden to have to do this; it is a joy to walk with your child.
The book of Amos asks us, ‘How can two walk together unless they are in agreement?’ There must be agreement about the time and place to meet for a walk. There must be agreement about the direction and the speed with which you will walk. There must be agreement about the purpose of the walk. Quite often, my wife will suggest that we go for a walk, but most always, we have two different things in mind. I’m thinking about going for a leisurely stroll and she is thinking about a vigorous exercise. I’m thinking of flat ground and she has a hill in mind; indeed, there must be agreement. In our walk with God there will also be times that may require a different pace or a different purpose.
To walk with God implies that we have taken some time with Him and have gone a fair distance, not just a few steps. Enoch walked with God through all the seasons of life; he enjoyed the good times and he endured the bad times; he continued to walk through the triumphs and through the trials; through the joys and the sorrows. He kept pace with God and no matter which way life was pulling him, he walked in God’s direction. He spent his life walking with God, not noticing that he was changing as they walked.
There is a phrase spoken by John the Baptist that seems to resemble what happened to Enoch; ‘He must increase, but I must decrease’. He must become more prominent and I must become less prominent. He must become more visible and I must become less visible. His wisdom must be forefront and my wisdom must be secondary. Things were becoming less about Enoch and more about God and it seemed to happen almost effortlessly. It took place over time as he kept walking with God. Many times, we might struggle to overcome certain habits or resist certain temptations; indeed, we all have character flaws and we all have much room for growth. However, if we focus only on those things that we need to change it can sometimes make it harder. Enoch walked with God and his personal problems took care of themselves; he walked with God and was not.
Someone has once said that Enoch and God had walked together for so long that they got closer to God’s house than they were to Enoch’s, so God just took him to His home. Be encouraged friends, God desires to walk with us; it is His idea; and He has made us able to walk with Him. We might stumble here and there on the journey, but we must keep walking and keep in step with God and soon, very soon, we will see that we have arrived at the door to His house. The peace, joy and pleasures which await us there are far beyond anything that any of us could even begin to imagine! Thank you, Jesus!
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