WALKING WITH GOD

“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 those that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:5-6).

The original Hebrew meaning for “walked” implies that Enoch went up and down, in and out, to and fro, continually conversing with God and growing. Enoch’s father, Jared, lived to be 962 years old and his son Methuselah lived to be 969. But Enoch lived 365 years—or a “year” of years! For 365 days every year for all his years, he walked arm in arm with the Lord. The Lord was his very life!

Enoch learned to walk with God in the midst of a wicked society, yet he was an ordinary man. He “begat sons and daughters” (Genesis 5:22) and was involved in everyday life with a wife, children, obligations, and the same burdens we carry. He walked with God while raising his family and providing for them.

Those who walk with God are translated out of Satan's reach, out of his kingdom of darkness and into Christ’s kingdom of light. “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son” (Colossian 1:13). We are translated out of the devil’s snare and into the very heart of Jesus.

The Greek word for “translate” here suggests that Christ personally comes and carries us away from the devil’s power and sets us in a heavenly place. But God translates only those who walk close to Him as Enoch did. Those who are held captive at Satan’s will cannot be taken up and delivered from darkness. You truly are not saved until you firmly set your heart on walking with God. You can claim to be saved and to love Him; you can tell the world you belong to Him; you may even pray, weep and read His Word. But unless you walk every day with Him, you will never change. You will fall deeper and deeper into bondage.