My favourite bible character is Enoch. Why? It’s simple really he pleased God. David said ‘Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.’Enoch was truly blessed. Imagine God being so happy with you that He wants to spend all His time with you. He refuses to allow time or space, or even realms to separate you from His love. Well, Enoch knows how that feels. Genesis 5:24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him (KJV).
Every time I think of my relationship with God, I remember Enoch and I think what did He do? Scripture doesn’t say much about Him, He didn’t perform miracles or rain down fire, he didn’t part seas or raise the dead, he didn’t give sight to the blind or heal the sick, and he didn’t cast out demons or teach the word. He wasn’t an evangelist, a prophet, a teacher, an apostle or a pastor. No, none of that, he simply walked with God.
Can you imagine? All the other men and women of God have stories written about them, good stories for that matter, but Enoch has one or two lines written about him in Genesis and about three lines written about him in Hebrews.
But look at what was written about him, ‘and Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him’.
This is so beautiful. We have been given divine purpose and the results of walking in divine purpose in just thirteen words. What did Enoch do? He walked with God (divine purpose) and what happened? He was not (result), how and why? For God took him. Wow! I want that said about me when I’ve gone home to be with the Lord ‘she walked with God, she pleased Him’
Back to Enoch. Paul tells us about Enoch’s testimony. He didn’t do much really, just as I pointed out above. His testimony was that He pleased God. What a testimony. This shows true faith in God, he experienced God. He knew God.
Some of us worry so much about what we want to do for God, how much work we’d like to do for Him. We run helter skelter, trying to find the next opportunity for a good deed, our time and energy is spent on being super helpers, home builders, ‘friend in need’, intercessor, good listener, good employee, fellowship leader. Some of us are actually called super woman or man because of all we do for God. We are well known in our homes, jobs and churches for the love we have for the work of God. We tend to love His work more than we do Him. We look to please people, but we don’t think of pleasing Him.
Enoch got it so right. His only concern was God. He had family, because scripture tells us he had sons and daughters, one of which was Methuselah. If he had family, he must have been a provider, because in those days, God commanded the man to till the ground i.e. to provide for his family. He must have had neighbours, friends, family members, fellow farmers and so on. But he still found time to please God. How?
He got His priority right. He put God first, he focused on Him. He sought God and His kingdom first and God took care of Him. He truly is a friend of God. Everything he did, he did with God by his side. No compromises, Enoch gave his all to God, he made God His best friend.
All our works for God are nothing if we don’t have a genuine relationship with Him. He loves you much more than he loves what you can do for Him and without Him you can’t do anything worthwhile. In Him we move and live and have our being.
Let’s put down all our baggage, every self imposed mission and turn to the one who loves us so much that He would not allow anything to separate us from Him.
I want to walk with you Lord, just like Enoch did and still is…
(Written by Yewande Erinle © All rights reserved.)
