Walking with God

"He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God" Micah 6:8.

God's desire is that we might "walk with Him". Many times people think that to be a Christian means that "God walks with me" - in other words, wherever I go, God goes. But we are called to align our lives to the life of God, not the other way around. We walk with God (Amos 3:3).

Three Examples

The Bible provides many examples of those who walked with God (read 1 Cor.10:11; Heb.11). We study their lives, not just as history lessons, but to understand the secret of their walk with God (Hebrew 6:12). Three men in the Bible are actually identified as specifically having "walked with God": Enoch, Noah and Abraham.

Enoch's Walk

"When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years.Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away" Gen. 5:21-24.

Something happened to Enoch when Methuselah was born. Up until that time, Enoch had probably believed in God, but had not walked with God. What happened to change all this?

Methuselah became the oldest man to ever live (969 years) and the year he died God sent the Flood in judgment against a wicked world. It seems that God had revealed to Enoch that his son was the "time-clock" for God's judgment. In fact, Enoch saw beyond even the Flood to the Second Coming of Christ.

"Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him" Jude 14-15.

This revelation of judgment launched Enoch into a close walk with God. Enoch's fellowship with God was so close that God caught him straight up to heaven to be with Him, without Enoch having to taste of death first (Genesis 5:24). This is a picture of what it will be like for Christians alive when Jesus returns (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

"By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God" Hebrews 11:5.

Noah's Walk

Noah was one of a handful of men that impressed the heart of God (Ezekiel 14:12-20). Like Enoch, he is described as a man who "walked with God".

"Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God" Genesis 6:9 (see also 7:1).

In the midst of this corrupt generation, Noah was special, because of his attitude (read Genesis 6:5-12, 22; 7:1). He was blameless in his generation.

Noah saw things unseen

"By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family." Hebrews 11:7.

The Bible talks about two "worlds" - the seen world and the unseen world (2 Cor.4:18; Heb.11:1). Noah's eyes were fixed on the unseen world and this affected his walk on the earth.

Noah condemned his generation

"...By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith" Hebrews 11:7.

Noah was a "preacher of righteousness" (2 Peter 2:5), but it wasn't his words that condemned the world, but his life. Through his life, Noah proved that it was possible not to walk a way of violence and depravity, thus leaving his generation with no excuse for their condition (Romans 1:18-20).

Saved from a corrupt generation

In Matt.24:37-39, Jesus said that the generation alive at the time of His return would be just like that of Noah's generation. Noah's generation was judged because of its violence and corruption, not because they were "eating and drinking.". Their daily lives numbed them to the reality of their evil condition. Our generation is no different.

"With many other words he warned them; and pleaded with them, 'Save yourselves from this corrupt generation'" Acts 2:40.

Our salvation does not just mean we are rescued from an eternity in hell (the future). Our salvation extends into the here and now.

Abraham's Walk

"...the Lord appeared to [Abram] and said, 'I am God Almighty, walk before me and be blameless'" Genesis 17:1.

Like Enoch and Noah, Abraham walked with God (Genesis 24:40). But the New Testament describes the walk of Abraham in a way different from Enoch and Noah.

"...'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,' and he was called God's friend " James 2:23.

Abraham's fellowship with the Lord was so great that he was called the "friend" of God (2 Chronicles 20:7). This did not just mean that God was Abraham's friend. Even more than that, Abraham was God's friend. God felt He could share the depths of His heart with Abraham, just as two friends might do. God is looking for the same kind of deep friendship with you (John 15:13-15; Proverbs 17:17).

Like Enoch, Noah and Abraham, each of us has a choice between two walks - between walking with the world or walking with God (James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-16), between the seen world and the unseen world of God's promises (2 Corinthians 5:7). The choice we make will determine how we live - our outlook, our values, our lifestyle (Hebrews 11:32-12:2).

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