Walking with God By Faith

Hebrews 11:5–6

Healthy interpersonal relationships provide spiritual, emotional, and physical intimacy. They play a crucial role in our overall human experience since we all, to some degree, desire to belong and to love. God’s design satisfies these needs through our close friendships, family and marriage providing a social network for His children to form and pursue strong emotional attachments. As such vulnerability and trust characterizes healthy intimate relationships.

God also designed us for intimacy with himself through vibrant and interactive faith. Beloved, this has the potential of becoming the closest bond with another Person we will ever experience! Consider what God records about a gentleman who lived before Noah’s flood name Enoch. He was Noah’s great grand daddy!

And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. (Genesis 5:21–24, KJV)

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. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:5–6, KJV)

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; And what doth the LORD require of thee, But to do justly, and to love mercy, And to walk humbly with thy God? (Micah 6:8, KJV)

Hebrews 11:5 and 6, tells how Enoch pleased God because he walked intimately with Him by faith. The original account of Enoch is given to us in Genesis 5, informing us that he walked closely with God and instead of dying like everyone else in Genesis chapter five, Enoch was taken from his earthly life by God without dying. Then in Micah 6:8, we see how God prescribes for every believer to do justly, love mercy, and you guessed it… “walk humbly with thy God.” God designed for life to be an ongoing experience with Him, not independent of Him.

Certainly, living by faith is essential to genuine Christian expression; our lives are not Christ-like without this characteristic. Fundamentally, faith requires that we listen to God’s Word and daily life is a continuous expression of confidence/trust in His prescriptions and instructions. We purpose to obey God and leave all the consequences with Him because such trust honors Him and respects the relationship. The opposite of living by faith is living by sight, fears, mere reason, doubt, uncertainty, self-sufficiency, and independence of God. We know God is wonderfully pleased with us as we live by faith, but what does He expect regarding “walking” by faith and ‘walking with God’?

I think at the core of this concept of living relationally with God is the notion of a mental/emotional bond and communion with the Almighty. Us enjoying Him throughout our lives, and He is enjoying us as well. Through faith in Jesus Christ, a relationship with God is established. Like any other relationship this one must be nurtured through healthy interactions. So, rich conversations, growing trust, insightful considerations, deepening love, thrilling adventures together, sharing real challenges and triumphs, working through setbacks, acknowledging painful failures, and realizing progress towards maturing the relationship are all tenets of walking with God by faith. 

In addition, Enoch sought after God…he hungered to know Him more intimately and comprehensively. He intentionally believed what God revealed to Him and diligently pursued more of God. He even preached messages to others from what God had revealed to him (Jude 14). All of these were elements of Enoch’s warm walk with the Lord in those 300 pre-flood years. Beloved, God regards such behavior as “good” and He invites each of us to likewise “walk humbly with our God.” Such a God-seeker lifestyle is rewarded by God and pleasing to Him because it evidences vibrant faith! Let’s take a closer look at the faith of Enoch.

Enoch, The Faithful Seeker, Walking with God by Faith (Hebrews 11:5-6)

His Promise

How did God invite Enoch to such an excellent experience? Perhaps it was the birth of his son, Methuselah, that inspired a definite decision to live by faith in harmony with God. Clearly, Methuselah’s birth sparked a dedication that marked the rest of Enoch’s life—he began to take matters of faith far more seriously. Maybe he yearned to provide his son a godly model to follow. (See Genesis 5:21–24)

Hebrews 11 suggests that Enoch viewed God as “God” and a “Rewarder” of the diligent seeker. There had to be a basis for him thinking of Jehovah in this way…perhaps God issued a promise of blessing—an invitation to spend life with Him, the Almighty God-Rewarder. It could have been a promise from God that Enoch would go to heaven without dying. I cannot be dogmatic here…. What is clear is that God promised to reward the person who diligently seeks Him as God (Heb. 11:5, 6). This much was powerfully motiving in the heart of Enoch. God promised, and Enoch believed Him. It was the most sane, rational thing that Enoch could do; what is more reasonable than that the creature should believe his Creator? (MacDonald) Remember, intimate relationships are characterized by deepening trust and vibrant God-confidence.

Fundamentally, a walk of faith is motivated and directed by “thus saith the Lord.” Our trust must be in God’s character and statements. It cannot be a matter of demanding our own will according to our own imaginations. Such behavior violates intimacy. Instead it is living in the context of God’s revealed plan that is essential (Rom. 10:17). What specific promise from God inspires you to walk obediently and closely with Him? Remember, faith is always based on something God said, prescribed, or promised; it is never wishful thinking or merely a positive outlook. Beloved, there is inherent promise in the fact that God is a “rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” (Heb. 11:6). So, who are you pursuing?

His Passage 

Sometime during Enoch’s devoted life, it suddenly happened! He received a passport directly into Heaven! Before that incredible moment, we know that Enoch walked with the invisible God for three hundred years (Gen. 5:21–24)! Again, we must consider this idea of walking with God because it is so crucial.

The word walk implies a steady, progressive relationship and not just a casual acquaintance. To walk with God is the business of a lifetime, and not just the performance of an hour. (MacDonald, W. (1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary)

Enoch possessed a companionship with God that he cherished like no other. He regarded God first and foremost as priority number one. Steadily, progressively, daily, life-long, and sweetly pursuing deepening connection with Jehovah. “Enoch walked with God!” He found his greatest pleasure in God’s company and expressed his most honest thoughts to His Creator. It was not a matter of impressing the watching eyes, it was a matter of exploring and experiencing supreme Reality by faith. This is what gave this dear saint of God purpose, meaning, and significance….

Also bear in mind that up to that time everyone had died—consider the record and you will find that sooner or later everyone else literally died (Gen. 5). The sentence of death was realized with every generation since the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Humanity was receiving its fair wages for its sinfulness! There was no record of anyone ever having been taken away without dying. All Enoch had was a promise of blessing and perhaps translation to heaven from God. Yet, this fueled his worship and pursuit of God and the knowledge of the Holy! There was no other occasion Enoch could learn from as a case study. Apparently, what God said to him was enough and he believed God. The promise gave shape to his passage through life.

You see, life was designed to be shared with God. Beloved, we were never intended to figure our life’s challenges all on our own. From the creation, God’s plan involved His interaction with humanity in relationship…intimate relationship. Walking with God is His design for all of us and Jesus Christ is key to making life with God possible. It is Christ who died for our sins, was buried, and on the third day raised from among the dead (1Cor. 15:1-6). He is alive forevermore to save all who will acknowledge their sinfulness and trust him as Savior (Rom. 10:8-17). Without faith in Jesus, the Son of God, we remain under the sentence of death and condemnation in Hell (Rom. 5:12-21). Jesus is the way, the true faith-passage, to God. (See Jn. 14:1-6) Will you trust Him also?

Then perhaps surprisingly, Enoch walked with Jehovah God straight on into heaven. Yes, this was extraordinary, miraculous, and supernatural. Hebrews 11:5 says he was “translated” and refers to this as a “translation”—a change to a different location. Much like words can be transported from one language to another, Enoch was transported to Glory to be with God before Noah’s flood! He escaped the coming wrath and judgment through this God-provided passage! 

Like many others, I also see in the translation of Enoch an intimation of the Rapture of the saints when Jesus Christ returns for us prior to the Tribulation judgments (1 Thes. 4:13–18). Perhaps the Lord wanted to assure these suffering Hebrew believers that they too have this hope of being translated as Enoch was, but in the meantime, we must concentrate on walking daily and closely with God. (Wiersbe) Beloved, what is your passage to God? Is it faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God? You may look many places to find love and belonging…. I assure you…you cannot do better than Jesus. God created you for the best! He is that “BEST” for you! Beloved, Jesus is who you need.