jonesfam@fidnet.com
Genesis 5:24 "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not, for God took him"
That sentence made me stop and stare the first time I read it. There are not many words spoken of Enoch in the Scriptures, but what few are spoken...........speak volumes. I mean what else needs to be said, what more can be said? The man walked with God.............period. But did he see God, did God show himself to Enoch, did Enoch receive this special attention that you and I have not? The answer is no, the Apostle Paul tells us in Hebrews 11:5 "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found; because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God" So here we see that Enoch pleased God, but how.....what did he do? What can we do? I mean seriously..........I want to walk with God. But I want to make myself clear, I am not suggesting of walking with just any god, but rather the God of the Scriptures, the one that Enoch walked with........The God. I do not want to be guilty of shaping and molding God into what I think He should be. No, the shaping and molding will be His job and I will be the one going through it. Isaiah 64:8 "But now, O LORD, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand." Sounds tough doesn't it? Being shaped and molded when we would just rather be left alone to fulfill our desires, not His. He will leave you alone.........it is your choice. But make no mistake, if we want to walk with God it will be on his conditions, not ours. Jesus said, Luke 9:23 "And he said to them all, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." Deny self, Hmmm........this is getting serious, again Luke 9:24-25 "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and then lose himself, or be cast away." Short version, our foolish desires no longer matter and His purposes do. But how, just how do we live every day in this manner? How did Enoch do it? How do we walk with God and have a testimony that we pleased Him? We already seen how, Paul told us in Hebrews 11:5 "By Faith" , that is how Enoch did it and that is how we have to do it, as we see in the very next verse. 11:6 "But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him" Just what is faith? Paul said it is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Not seen? You mean I no longer walk by what I see,.......this world, what I touch and hear and feel. Nope, when you decide to follow Him you now walk by faith. Paul spoke of so many that walked by faith, each one fulfilling a different purpose........Gods purpose,.......not their own. Each one by faith walked with God, they held Him by the hand and said "your will, not mine", having the faith that He was there,.......... and that He knew best. And through patience, they all came to realize that when all hell came against them, that if they would stop, and listen,.......they could hear Him say....................Be still, for I am here,.........walk with me.
Copyright Michael Jones