Walking with God

“And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” (Gen.5:24)
“…and Noah walked with God.” (Gen.6:9)

What does it mean to walk with God? Is it any different than following God? Enoch and Noah’s choice to walk with Him was especially noteworthy because it was during a time when, obviously, nobody else was doing it. (“The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence” Gen.6:11.) And we have no reason to assume their choice was coerced in any way. It was a product of freewill (at least, as free as a Sovereign God allows). In both cases, it saved them from a cataclysm—the Flood. And in our case, walking with God will save a man or woman from a spiritual cataclysm—a ruined life.

But, to go back to my original question, how does one walk with God? Hebrews 11:5 gives us a clue when it tells us that Enoch also had a testimony that he “pleased God,” then in the following verse explains that we will never please God without faith. No wonder 2 Corinthians 5:7 says we “walk by faith,” the opposite of walking by sight. This is not blind faith. God sees what is ahead clearly. It’s merely allowing Him to guide us with His own eye (Psl.32:8), a glorified “birds-eye-view,” if you will.

Then, of course, Amos 3:3 asks rhetorically, “Can two walk together, except they be agreed,” with the obvious answer being, “No.” Two opposing factions never make progress, since they’re always butting heads. Walking with God, then, involves two things: pleasing God and agreeing with Him. I pondered whether walking with God is the same as following Him, and now I think I know the answer. Walking with someone puts to rest any suggestion of reluctance that mere following might allow. God wants us to grow spiritually to the place where we are confident pace keepers with Him. Not only does He need to set the path, He needs to set the pace, if we want to consider ourselves as walking with Him. And, by the way, that is exactly what He requires of us.

“[A]nd what doth the Lord require of thee, but to…walk humbly with thy God.”
(Micah 6:8)