Introduction

An Amazing Fact: On January 26, 1977, Englishman George Meegan began a continuous 2,426-day journey traversing the Americas—on foot. In the process of walking from the southernmost tip of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, to the northernmost point of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, Meegan met former President Jimmy Carter, survived several attacks while crossing the Darién Gap, achieved eight world records, and got married and had two children. In total, he walked 19,019 miles.

The Longest Walk in the World George Meegan may have won a Guinness World Record for the longest walk, but the Bible reveals that distinction, in one sense, actually belongs to a man named Enoch. Genesis 5:22 tells us that “Enoch walked with God three hundred years”!

Who was Enoch?

When we do the math, we figure out that Enoch was part of the seventh generation of humankind, born 622 years after God created Adam. Enoch then lived for 365 years—before “God took him” (v. 24). That is, God took Enoch to heaven, making him the first human being ever to be translated, which means he went to heaven without dying first. As Hebrews 11:5 says, “Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death.” (Technically, this means that Enoch is still walking with God, giving him the record for walking with God the longest—more than 5,000 years!)

That’s our finish line as Christians—to be where Enoch is physically and spiritually. So it naturally follows that we could learn a few things from the life of the man given this great privilege. How did Enoch’s walk with God give him entrance into heaven? How can we get to where he is?

In this book, we’ll cover seven simple points about Enoch’s walk with God to give us a solid foundation in our own walk with our Maker.

Chapter 1 – Why Did Enoch Walk With God?

What prompted Enoch to walk with God?

The Bible tells us, “Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God” (Genesis 5:21, 22). It was after Enoch had his first child that it appears he chose to walk with God consistently.

There’s something extraordinary that happens to you when you become a parent. You begin to understand the grave responsibility that rests upon you to raise, to educate, and to be an example to your child. You experience sacrifice, patience, and dedication on an entirely different level.

And you get a glimpse, however small, into the relationship God wants with you and into the breadth and depth of love He has for you. God is a parent too. He’s a Father who “sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him” (1 John 4:9). He’s a Father who has suffered the heartbreak of losing His beloved Son so that we might be added to His family: “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (3:1).

God’s love for us awakens our love in return (4:19). And when we love God, we will walk with Him. Love is your motivation to walk: “This is love, that we walk according to His commandments” (2 John 6); “I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments” (Deuteronomy 30:16). That’s interesting, isn’t it? According to Scripture, walking with God is synonymous with obeying His law. Loving God results in commandment-keeping.

Notice also the connection to this verse: “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life” (Revelation 22:14). Mankind was barred from the tree of life after Adam and Eve sinned because its fruit provided eternal life (Genesis 3:22–24). According to these passages, your walk determines your final destination. Walking with God results in everlasting salvation.

It is very likely that this is what happened to Enoch when he became a father. He experienced his deep love for his own son and better understood God’s love for him. As a result, Enoch began to walk with Him. This means that Enoch lived in accordance with God’s commandments.

Chapter 2 – When Did Enoch Walk With God?

The Bible records that two kinds of people came from Adam’s posterity:

• One people from the line of Seth, who “[called] on the name of the Lord” (Genesis 4:26)
• And another clan who walked “in the way of Cain” (Jude 11). (See Genesis 4:16–26.)

We have only to read the biblical account of Cain and his brother Abel to know that “the way of Cain” was one of disobedience to God (vv. 3–5), anger and resentment, (vv. 5–7), murder (v. 8), and rebellion (v. 9). From the line of Cain came polygamy (v. 19) and more homicide (v. 23).

The Bible makes a point of distinguishing between these two different ways a person can walk—God’s way (Deuteronomy 30:16) or Cain’s way. Notice that one’s walk is a euphemism for how one lives.

By the time of the universal Flood, 669 years after Enoch walked into heaven with God, Cain’s life principles had overrun the earth (Genesis 6:5, 11, 12). But even in Enoch’s day, Cain’s way was already spreading. Enoch, a descendant from the line of Seth, lived when Adam—the first man—was still alive. Thus, Enoch was able to hear from the very lips of this patriarch the tragic account of mankind’s fall into sin. He was able to still see from a distance the Garden of Eden, the paradise that could have been his home, and the precious tree of life, still guarded by the cherubim with the fiery sword. Enoch saw the wonders that had been lost by sin; he beheld the malignant results of sin.

And he also preached vehemently against Cain’s way. The Bible records Enoch as saying, Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him (Jude 14, 15).

Four times in a single sentence, Enoch emphasized the word “ungodly.” This man was a holy prophet passionate about pointing others to God’s way of life. In a time when shadows of wickedness were spreading and growing darker upon the earth, Enoch made the choice to walk with God anyway. And God rewarded him for his courage. “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly” (Psalm 1:1).

Chapter 3 – With Whom Did Enoch Walk?

No, that’s not a typo. This may be an obvious point, but it’s not one we should lightly pass over: Enoch walked with God. What a privilege that the Creator of the infinite universe wants to walk with you! God came to walk with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, but they, ashamed of their sin, hid from Him instead (Genesis 3:8–10). Enoch did the opposite—and God granted him the gift of being the first human being who did not die.

“What does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8). This isn’t some ordinary stranger asking you to take a stroll; it’s an invitation from the King of kings Himself. “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us” (Ephesians 5:1, 2); “for you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light” (v. 8).

I often travel overseas to exotic locales for ministry, sometimes with my wife but often alone. Many cities I’ve visited on these trips are not so safe. Americans who don’t speak the language are an easy target for robbing or swindling. So it’s always a great relief when I meet my Christian host who lives in the city, speaks the language, and understands the culture. He safely guides me through the gauntlet of taxi stands, crowds, bazaars, and shops where owners sometimes physically pull you into their establishments. In times like those, I know that I need to stick close to my guide and follow him so that I can be led to a place of safety.

When God asks you to walk with Him, He is also offering you resources to do it. For one, you have the Savior—the One who loves you more than anyone else in the world, the One who beat death and claimed the right to give you eternal life (Romans 8:11)—walking right beside you, guiding you with His light (John 8:12). You also have the Holy Spirit transforming you into Christ’s image, to reflect—to imitate— His character (2 Corinthians 3:18). You don’t have to do this alone.

Christ said, “They shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy” (Revelation 3:4). You are worthy not because of your walk but because of who is walking with you. Christ makes you worthy. “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!” (5:12).

Jesus is the reason you are able to gain citizenship in the heavenly kingdom. So “walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory” (1 Thessalonians 2:12).

Chapter 4 – How Did Enoch Walk With God?

It’s not just about reaching the end goal.

How you get to the finish line matters to God.

When a person is walking with God, is he in a trance, like a sleepwalker? Is he listlessly dragging his feet, dilly-dallying, or kicking and screaming like a toddler throwing a tantrum? No! The decision to walk with God is made of a person’s free will. That manifests itself in four ways. Let’s consider them.

Walking by Faith When Enoch walked with God, you can be sure that he was adjusting his gait to match God’s pace. As the apostle Paul said, “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1, 2). You’re not leading the way; Jesus is. If you’re on the road to somewhere, you’re going to depend on the one who knows the way, the one who can get you there. In other words, you’ll have faith in the navigator.

I rely on my smartphone often because I know that it can be much smarter than me. Remember, I was born when televisions were still black and white and when there were only three channels. But when I’m in a city I’ve never been to before and using the GPS to get to a store or restaurant, it seems like 50 percent of the time I misconstrue the instructions and turn left when I’m supposed to go right. I’ll get there eventually, sure, but I still struggle to interpret the directions. I always feel much better when I’m traveling with a group of friends and one of them is a wizard with their smartphone. I can simply relax and walk in confidence thinking, “Just stay with them; they know where they’re going.”

The Bible says, “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). We can trust that Jesus knows where He’s going. “All those who believe … walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had” (Romans 4:11, 12). Likewise, it was “by faith” that “Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death” (Hebrews 11:5). Enoch trusted Christ and indeed walked with Him by faith.

Walking by faith also means that you’re walking without fear. Notice how Jesus related the two when speaking with His disciples: “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” (Mark 4:40, my emphasis). Faith brings assurance in a Leader who will ultimately save you for eternity, no matter how threatening the dangers you encounter on your path. “Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).

Walking in the Spirit The Bible contrasts walking in the Spirit from walking in the flesh:

• “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:1).
• “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16).

Paul then cataloged many of the fruits of fleshly lusts:

… adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like (vv. 19–21).

It sounds a lot like the way of Cain, doesn’t it?

We’ve learned that Enoch walked in the opposite way of Cain. In other words, Enoch walked in the Spirit. The book of Jude even tells us that Enoch prophesied against those “walking according to their own lusts” (v. 16), “sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit” (v. 19). So what are the fruits of walking in the Spirit? Paul listed those too: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22, 23).

Peter offers a similar list and in a particular sequence:

… giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:5–9).

These fruits of the Spirit are character traits, developed by allowing the Holy Spirit to dwell in your heart. As we know, the Holy Spirit is the One who transforms your character—how you think and how you behave. God promised, “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them” (Ezekiel 36:27). Compare this verse to one we’ve already looked at, Deuteronomy 30:16, which says, “I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments.” Remember, love starts your walk with God, which results in obeying His law. And remember, this is all made possible by repenting of and confessing your sins to God. He promises to forgive you when you do and send the Holy Spirit into your life to guide you in this new walk. That is walking in the Spirit!

Walking in Truth The apostle John wrote, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth” (3 John 4). If you are walking in the Spirit, then you are walking in truth, for the Holy Spirit is “the Spirit of truth” who “will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13).

Specifically, the Bible tells us that God’s “word is truth” (17:17). So learning Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16) and then following it—that is, living in accordance with God’s commandments—means you are walking in truth. Scripture is like a map providing the direction in which you are to walk. As the psalmist said, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).

James reminds us that it’s more than just hearing God’s directions—it’s following them:

For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does (James 1:23–25).

Walking Away From Evil Walking toward something also implies that you are walking away from something else. What’s important is to be sure you’re walking in the right direction.

When you’re walking with God, you’re walking toward light, righteousness, the heavenly city—and at the same time, away from evil. “Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil” (Proverbs 4:14); “do not walk in the way with them, keep your foot from their path; for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood” (1:15, 16).

The hero in the book of Job “was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil” (1:1). Walking with God means avoiding certain places and certain situations; it means guarding what you watch, what you read, and what you listen to. This is the inferred call-to-action based on Enoch’s preaching in Jude 14, 15: “But you, beloved, … keep yourselves in the love of God” (v. 21).

But notice that there is an important difference between being holy and being a hermit. The Bible in no way counsels us to completely isolate. We are to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). That’s why the book of Jude recorded Enoch as telling others, “Behold, the Lord comes” (v. 14).

Believers have a responsibility to let their light shine and meet others while on their walk. In fact, when you’re walking with God, He will bring you into many situations in which you will have the opportunity to model Christ and explain your walk to others.

The way to do that isn’t to cut out, to remove, to constrain; it is to fill your life so full of God’s goodness that there won’t be room for all the bad, so full of light the darkness will dissipate. “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, … but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:1, 2). A person walks away from evil when he loves—when he delights—to walk in God’s commandments instead.

Chapter 5 – What Was the Influence of Enoch’s Walk?

The name Enoch means “dedicated.”

It is derived from the Hebrew word chanak, which means “to train.” And Enoch lived up to his name. We’ve seen that he indeed was a dedicated teacher, preaching God’s truths to others against a tsunami of wickedness. Today, we might call him a missionary.

As already mentioned, Enoch’s teachings focused on a particular subject: the final judgment. He prophesied, “The Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all” (Jude 14, 15). “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes” (1 Corinthians 4:5). Scripture foretells that the final judgment of the wicked will occur at the end of the millennium, when Christ returns to Earth with the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem, and all the saints (Revelation 20:7–9; 21:2). But Enoch’s preaching also warned against another impending judgment in his day—the Flood. The apostle Peter compared Christ’s coming and Noah’s flood in their total destruction of the world:

Scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men (2 Peter 3:3–7).

The Flood was a type pointing us to the final judgment, a flood of fire. It appears that Enoch related the two as well. Remember his son Methuselah? His name roughly translates to: “when I die it will come.” Fascinatingly, when we do the math (Genesis 5:25–29; 7:6), we discover that Methuselah, the man who lived on Earth the longest, died at 969 years old (5:27), the same year that God sent the universal Flood to bring about the destruction of all the people save Noah and his family (7:21–23). Enoch was so devoted to sharing the message of the coming judgment that he even prophesied about it through the name of his child!

A Message of Hope While Enoch warned people of the inevitable destruction of the wicked, don’t mistake his messages for ones of gloom and doom. God said regarding those who walk with Him, “He walked with Me in peace and equity, and turned many away from iniquity” (Malachi 2:6). When Enoch walked with God, his message could be none other than one of revival and reformation, a hopeful message that urged people to repent of all sin and grasp the gift of everlasting life in the Savior.

Speaking of Christ, the apostle John stated, “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked” (1 John 2:6). When Jesus walked the earth, He “went about doing good” (Acts 10:38) and “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). And He taught others to do the same (Matthew 4:19). Whoever walks with Christ will share this message of hope with the world, the gospel truth that points people to salvation—not destruction.

The Bible doesn’t tell us how many people Enoch turned from destruction, but we can know that his influence was one for the heavenly kingdom. We are now living in a time similar to Enoch’s day, when judgment is imminent (1 Peter 4:7). And we have been given the same message of hope to take to the world—the three angels’ messages. All those who are walking with God will bear this prophecy: to “fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come” (Revelation 14:7). This same message declares that the wicked will be destroyed (vv. 9–11), but that “the everlasting gospel” (v. 6) is still available for the taking. Let us dedicate our lives, as Enoch did, to offering the free gift of eternal life.

Chapter 6 – Where Did Enoch Walk With God?

I once heard about a girl who explained Enoch’s walk with God this way: Every day, God would say to Enoch, “We’re going to go for a walk.” Then, God would meet Enoch at his front door, and they’d go on a walk together. They did this every day for 300 years. Finally, one day, after a long walk, God says to Enoch, “You know, we’re closer to My house than yours. Let’s just go to My house.”

The Bible tells us of one other person who was translated to heaven: the prophet Elijah. The apprentice and successor of Elijah was Elisha. He witnessed Elijah ascending to heaven firsthand but other men doubted it. Interestingly, these men were believers, “sons of the prophets who were from Jericho” (2 Kings 2:15). They thought instead, “Perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley” (2 Kings 2:16). They even sent out a search party to look for him. These men thought Elijah went missing, like pilots who never return from a flight to a remote area. Of course, the search party never found Elijah, and Elisha’s testimony of seeing his master ascend in a chariot of angels was proved right (vv. 17, 18).

Did something similar happen at Enoch’s translation? The Bible says that Enoch “was not found, because God had taken him” (Hebrews 11:5, my emphasis). So people probably went searching for Enoch too, and just like with Elijah, they could not find him. But there was also someone who knew the reason why Enoch could not be found, an eyewitness like Elisha; we just read his testimony divulging where Enoch went: “God had taken him.” Enoch didn’t go missing; he simply continued doing what he had been doing for the last 300 years: He followed God.

The Last Generation Scripture also reveals that at the end of time, there will be another group of believers who will never experience death. They will be translated at the Second Coming:

For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:15–17, my emphasis).

A study of Revelation reveals a description of this group as the “firstfruits” “redeemed from among men” “who follow the Lamb wherever He goes” (14:4). The Lamb, in turn, will “lead them to living fountains of waters” (7:17) that proceed “from the throne of God and of the Lamb” (22:1). They, like Enoch, will simply follow Christ to their new home in His kingdom.

This group is specifically described as “having [the] Father’s name written on their foreheads” (14:1). Passages like Exodus 34:5–7 teach us that one’s “name” is a symbol for one’s “character.” Upon these people’s “foreheads,” a symbol for the mind, is written God’s character. (Compare Exodus 13:9 with Jeremiah 31:33.) In other words, their characters reflect His character: “God is love” (1 John 4:8); and “love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world” (v. 17).

This last-day people will be baptized in the Holy Spirit like the early apostles and perfectly reflect God’s character to all the world. The Holy Spirit will have finished the process of character transformation; He will have written God’s law upon their hearts (Hebrews 10:15, 16). When human beings are recreated in God’s image, when we love as God loves, “we keep His commandments” (1 John 5:3)—and as 1 John 3:4 confirms, keeping God’s commandments means turning away from sin. Just as Christ is “without sin” (Hebrews 4:15), so will this end-time group be holy.

And yet there are Christians in this day and age who believe that temptation cannot be resisted and sin cannot be overcome. Many assume that God will just change their characters and give them new hearts at the Second Coming. But isn’t that actually a profession of doubt in the power of God’s recreation? Do not be like the sons of the prophets, who spoke unbelief about the promise of walking with God straight into the heavenly kingdom. The Scripture says of Enoch, “Before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5, my emphasis). What does it mean to please God? Hebrews 13:20, 21 says, “Now may the God of peace … make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ.” Enoch pleased God by allowing God to work in him to do God’s will, to perfect and complete him. God did this work before Enoch was translated—in fact, Enoch was translated because of the purifying work that he allowed God to do on his character.

As Christ said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). The original Greek word for “pure,” katharos, is defined as clean, guiltless, innocent. “The words of the Lord are pure words” (Psalm 12:6); thus, “the pure in heart” have God’s Word written upon their hearts. David sang, “Cleanse me from my sin. … Create in me a clean heart, O God” (51:2, 10). A person’s heart must first be cleansed from sin in order for him to see God; God alone can accomplish this cleansing.

You might be tempted to view this last-day group as existing far in the future or beyond your reach; you might be tempted to disqualify yourself from these last-day Enochs. In your own strength, it is impossible. But Jesus asks us to take up His yoke and walk beside Him, promising, “You will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:29, 30).

But we know not the day nor the hour of Christ’s coming (Matthew 24:36). So Christ is calling each of us today to allow Him to finish the good work in us (Philippians 1:6). The time to walk with God is now so that you may walk with Him to the tree of life in the new earth.

Chapter 7 – What Does It Mean to Walk With God—Practically?

Now let’s put what we’ve learned into practice.

Why do you think the Bible describes life as a walk instead of, say, a jump or a ride? What’s interesting about a walk is that it’s the slowest of these options to get somewhere. A jump, for instance, is over in a moment—but not a walk. A walk is slow and steady.

A walk also takes effort. If you were given a ride in a car, the engine would be doing most of the work. Not so with a walk. With a walk, you’re the one putting one foot in front of the other. And that’s really what life is like—ongoing movement, constant motion, day by day and step by step. That’s what walking with God is. It doesn’t just pick up once a week at church; what you do the other six days matters. What you spend your time on the most makes up your life. So how does a walk with God become realized in daily life? Here’s a practical, comprehensive picture of a walk with God:

1. Prayer. “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). You are to have constant communion with the One with whom you are walking. Christ taught, “Men always ought to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1). He said, “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” (21:36).

This doesn’t mean that you never get up off your knees; these verses are talking about an attitude. Walking with God means never wanting to leave God’s presence and always being aware of His presence. “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:6). You want to talk with Him; you seek out His counsel on the issues you face and the decisions you make.

2. Reading the Bible. “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day” (Psalm 119:97). The righteous man Job said, “I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12). And Jesus recited, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). You are to devote yourself to the study of God’s Word because you cannot live without it. “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63).

And Moses said:

These words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up (Deuteronomy 6:6, 7).

In other words, the Bible is not excluded from any part of your life. In fact, it is God’s counsel to you. It receives your first and best attention.

3. Share your faith. “Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day” (Psalm 96:2). “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2). “Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15).

Do you think the gospel is to be preached only from the pulpit in the form of a sermon? No! Jesus said, “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14, my emphasis). Walking with God means asking, seeking, looking out for divine opportunities as you go about your day.

Your credentials are not based on a degree but on your first-rate testimony of a life changed by God. “Do the work of an evangelist” (2 Timothy 4:5); let “the sharing of your faith … become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus” (Philemon 6).

And you will find that the more you share your faith, the stronger it will grow—and the closer you will walk with God.

These are the three ingredients of a vital Christian life. You are walking with God when you are committed to these practices—not because they are required, not to check off your to-do list, not to curry favor—but because you love to spend time with the One with whom you are walking. If this is not your experience, why not give it a try? Start out with five minutes each. Each day, spend five minutes in prayer, five minutes in the Bible, and five minutes talking to another person about God. See what happens. Watch how your life changes as you begin to walk with Him.

Conclusion

During the course of His ministry on Earth, Jesus once bid His disciples to cross the Sea of Galilee without Him (Matthew 14:22). But midway through, a storm hit (v. 24). Then, in the middle of the night, amid the rough waves and fierce winds, “Jesus went to them, walking on the sea” (v. 25). Seeing this, the disciples “cried out for fear” (v. 26). But Jesus called out, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid” (v. 27). In response, Peter said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water” (v. 28).

Upon being permitted, Peter stepped out of the boat—and was able to walk on the water toward Jesus (v. 29). The Bible then records,

But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (vv. 30–32).

Walking with God in this stormy world is nothing short of a miracle. As illustrated by Peter, it is impossible—except with God (Luke 1:37). Before healing a paralytic, Christ said, “Rise up and walk” (5:23). To the man at the pool of Bethesda, He said, “Rise, take up your bed and walk” (John 5:8). Peter said to the lame man at the temple gate in Jerusalem, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk” (Acts 3:6). And indeed, all those men rose and walked. Time and again, the Bible shows us that the act of walking is a God-given gift accomplished only through His power and will.

Unless we hold fast to Christ, we will drown in the sin of this world. It is He who saves us. It is He who takes us by the hand and leads us back into the boat. How do we get to where Enoch is? Allow Christ to work His transforming miracle in your life so that, together, you can walk straight into the heavenly city of the New Jerusalem.