Contemplating the Way in Which One Walks with God… One Step at a Time
A Mars Hill Staff Devotional by Ray Stedman and Fred Carpenter

Read the Scripture: Genesis 5:1-27

And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters… Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away (Genesis 5:22, 24).

This account says twice that, before he was taken up, Enoch walked with God. I love the story of the little girl who was telling her mother the story of Enoch. She said, Enoch used to take long walks with God. One day he walked so far God said, ‘It’s too far to go back; come on home with me.’ That is what happened to Enoch.

What does it mean to walk with God? Here is a man who, in the midst of a brilliant but godless generation, walked with God. What does it mean? Enoch did not literally walk with God; this is unquestionably a figurative expression, but a figurative walk involves the same thing today as it did then. First, it means he went in the same direction God went. He was moving the way God was going. God is forever moving in human history. He is moving now to accomplish certain things in human life, and He has been doing so for centuries. The person who walks with God is the person who knows which way God is going and goes the same way. Now, what is that? Perhaps we cannot indicate it positively, but we certainly can negatively: God moves always in unswerving hostility toward sin. He is opposed to that which destroys and wrecks human life. No matter how good it looks, no matter how attractive it seems, God is against it. And the person who walks with God is the person who walks in unswerving hostility toward sin in his or her own life and refuses to make up with it or permit it to rule or to reign. That is the first thing in a walk with God.

Second, it means to keep in step. You cannot walk with somebody if you do not keep in step with him or her. Sooner or later there comes unbalance, and one of you bumps into the other. A walk is not like moving on one of these endless belts. It is not smooth; it is a repetition of almost falling. Have you ever analyzed your walk? Every time you take a step you almost fall. You allow your body to go off balance, and then you catch yourself with your other leg. Then you shift to that one and you almost fall again, only to catch yourself. The man or woman who walks with God is the man or woman who lives on the verge of a fall. That is an adventurous life. That means if God is not there to support and strengthen you, down you go. You are counting on Him to come through and to keep you steady. That is what a walk with God involves. It is always a walk of venturing out. It is never satisfied with the status quo, never content to remain in a quiet state, doing nothing, waiting, enjoying one’s self. It is forever moving at the same pace God moves. It means taking a step when God insists.

The third thing is that there was no controversy between God and Enoch. They were in agreement. Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so? says the Scriptures (Amos 3:3). They must be in agreement. And this is how we must be. There must be no controversy between us if we are going to walk with God, but we must agree with things as He sees them. What changes this makes in our lives!

Lord, may it be said of me as it was said of Enoch: He walked with God. I want to go in Your direction, keeping pace with You.

Additional Insight from God’s Word and His People…

Psalm 37:23-24 – v23 The steps of a man are established by the LORD, and He delights in his way. v24 When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, because the LORD is the One who holds his hand.

Proverbs 16:9 – The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.

Deuteronomy 7:22 – The LORD your God will drive out these nations before you little by little. You will not be able to destroy them all at once; otherwise, the wild animals will become too numerous for you.

He does not lead me year by year
Nor even day by day;
But step by step my path unfolds,
My Lord directs my way. – Barbara Ryberg

“What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step.” – C.S. Lewis

From “Take Another Step ” by Steven Curtis Chapman

We walk by faith and not by sight we know it’s true
We say it and sing it and love the way it sounds
But none of us can even begin to truly understand
What it really means ‘til all the lights go out
And there we are nothing to hold on to
But the promises God’s make to me and you

Take another step, take another step
When the road ahead is dark
And you don’t know where to go
Take another step, take another step
Trust God and take another step

 

Copyright © 2007 by Elaine Stedman — This first portion of this daily devotion is from the book The Power of His Presence: a year of devotions from the writings of Ray Stedman; compiled by Mark Mitchell. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice and a hyperlink to www.RayStedman.org if the copy is posted on the Internet. Please direct any questions you may have to webmaster@RayStedman.org.