Genesis- How to Walk with God

God made man to walk with God. This is evident in just the first few chapters of Genesis. God walked with Adam in the garden and God allowed man to walk in his presence until Cain murdered his brother. Genesis 4:26 tells us that Seth's son Enos was the first to call upon the name of the Lord.

Bu not until Seth's descendant Enoch was born did man begin to walk again with God. 22 And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah....24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. The name Enoch translates to mean "he should not see death." Enoch did not share the same fate as his brothers and family members. It seems he was called up to be with God instead of dying eighth or nine hundred years old. All because he walked with God.

So what exactly does walking with God mean and how can we establish a close relationship with God. It seems in the Old Testament this could be reached by righteousness gained through administering to God's rules for living. And like Abel who gained the respect or favor of God, they could offer their first flock to honor God. Today though, we don't have to sacrifice our fatted lamb, Jesus did that for us in the most sufficient way. He gave his life for me so I could walk with God. I never want to be de-sensitized to that act of grace and love. It was the most important event in all of history, but few historians would agree with me about that. Historians look at the earthly past, but we know Christ's sacrifice was done so we could have a heavenly future. Most men strive to have their name put down in the history books, but we should really be striving to have our names etched into the Book of Life.

After we are promised heaven through salvation, we have the privilege to walk with God. Now I'm not sure we all walk equally with God. Let me explain what I mean by that---God gives us the opportunity to walk right beside God or right behind him in his footsteps, but man gets distracted. I am the worst of them all. I kneel to pray and earthly things begin to bounce around in my head to distract my attention from my fellowship with God. I picture it as God walking on the mountaintops the closest to heaven. Man can climb the mountain and choose to walk with God if he stays on God's pathway of righteousness. Man can also get distracted and step off the mountain path to pick a flower or visit a stream that has caught their attention. Before we know it, we are so off path that we are walking on the mountain side looking up at God on the mountaintop. We stay in sight of God, but we are too far to hear his voice. We are too far to hold his hand. We may still feel his presence, but maybe we are the edge of it and feeling the cold creeping in. Maybe we are in the valley and can't even see God's path anymore because we have gotten so distracted. The good news is that God always is willing to lead us back on track. The great shepherd is sent in search of his lost sheep and he gently herds them back to the right path.

I am still learning the ways to stay close to God in my walk with him. Faith and prayer are two main things I am constantly working on in order to stay close to God. I've often fought the urge to write Faith, Hope, and Love on my hand to remind me to allow God to control my life. Being confident in faith that God loves me, wants to give me my heart's desires, and is in control of all that I am gives me peace and hope. I am often picking up my burdens instead of laying them down at Christ's feet. I pray for strength and confidence so that I might be a blessing to others and pleasing to God. Staying in God's word is another way to walk close to him. There is so many little treasures in the Bible waiting for us to read them and learn about them. The biggest thing is relying on God. If we take it upon our self to be strong in our walk with God, we will fail. But leaning on God and praying for his strength will keep us from stumbling from our walk with God. But always after a stumble, he picks us back up and heals our wounds. For a lack of better words, isn't God just so cool!?!