Friday, 29 September 2023
“Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.”
Walk with God, run with God, stand with God, be still with God!
Enoch is one of my favorite Bible characters. The Bible doesn’t give Enoch’s life story a lot of screen time, but he gets mentioned in Genesis 5 and Hebrews 11 and what is said about him is enough to make me admire him.
Enoch was approximately 365 years old when he got taken to heaven (Genesis 5:22). 365 years is a long, long time, yet Enoch walked with God faithfully and before he died his reputation was as “having pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5).
In Genesis 5:24 it also says that “Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.” This word “walked” in Genesis 5:24 is a really diverse word in its original language. It can mean: to walk, to be conversant, to follow, to grow, to lead, to march, to run (along), to be still, to wander.
The more I have looked into this verb the more I feel like I understand Enoch’s journey with God. I understand that his walk with God was about walking, conversing, following, growing, leading, marching, running, being still, and wandering.
Enoch teaches us that doing the journey with God is about sensing the pace of each season, determining the rhythm of the song being played and finding the appropriate response demanded of us day in and day out.
It’s about committing to walk when walking is required, devoting time to converse with God about the ebb and flow of life, setting our eyes on the move of the Spirit and following him wherever he calls, allowing ourselves to be stretched in order to grow and become the person he calls us to be, leading others to the cross, marching against evil schemes in order to win more territory for the Kingdom.
It’s about running our race with perseverance the way Paul commends us to, being still when the world incites a response of hate, and wandering not knowing the specific destination but knowing that our heavenly Father has called us to take steps of faith into the unknown.
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