“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)
You can read the whole biography of Enoch in Genesis 5:21-24. It’s basically this: He walked with God for 300 years and then “God took him away.” Today’s verse makes sure we know that’s not just polite funeral talk. God was so pleased with Enoch that he let the man skip death.
Why? Enoch walked with God. It says so twice in his bio there in Genesis.
That phrase has become so cliché in modern Christian circles that it has lost almost all of its meaning. Here’s how it makes sense to me:
I walk with God when I believe in his presence with me enough to actively include him in what is happening with me right now, in this moment. I think the strength of our faith can be measured in how many of those moments we can string together. Perfect faith would be a life in which those moments are never interrupted by faithless ones.
Think: What percentage of your waking hours would you say include an awareness that God is with you and that you are his?
Pray: Ask God to help you to walk with him more and more as you grow in your ability to trust him.
Do: Notice how this idea of endurance in “walking with God” fits into what James wrote in James 1:2-4. Wonder if Enoch faced a lot of trials that helped him trust God with so much endurance.