300 years.

Last week we talked about how friendship with God requires sacrifice. A couple of weeks ago we also spoke about Enoch who was said to walk with God faithfully for 300 years. 300 years is a long time. I have only been alive for about one tenth the time and I can tell you that walking with Jesus is hard. Bible tells us Enoch did it for 300 years. Wow. I can pick other examples but it jumped out at me when I read that about Enoch.

What is walking with Jesus? Amos 3:3 says, “Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction?” Meaning, we can’t say we are walking together if one person is headed East and the other is headed North. We part ways, say our goodbyes and go our own way. If we are walking together it means we are going the same way. Much deeper than that, Amos speaks of agreeing on the direction. So it is not a matter of one person walking and the other begrudgingly following and mumbling under their breath. Both people are agreed on the direction. How can two people agree on the direction at all times? One is leading and the other is following. The one following must always be submitted to the one leading.

It’s like when someone is taking you somewhere you have never been. If they say we turn left here, you turn left. You don’t argue about whether or not you should keep going straight or turn right because you do not know where you are going. You trust their directions.

The closer you walk with God, the more He begins to share with you what’s on His heart and what’s on His mind. Your thoughts start to align with His thoughts. You begin to know who He is not just what He does. You begin to know His heart and can pray in a way that moves God and affects nations.

Walking with God is about submission to God and to the leaders He puts in our lives. We may not always like where we are going but we trust God knows what He is doing. Psalm 23, one of the most famous psalms, starts off by saying in verse 1, “Yahweh is my best friend and my shepherd. I always have more than enough.” The Psalmist acknowledges God as both his best friend and his Shepherd. Jesus is his friend, but He is also His Lord. We cannot get too familiar with God that we value His friendship more than His Lordship.

The Psalmist goes on to say in verses 3 and 4, “That’s where he restores and revives my life. He opens before me the right path and leads me along in his footsteps of righteousness so that I can bring honor to his name. Even when your path takes me through the valley of deepest darkness, fear will never conquer me, for you already have! Your authority is my strength and my peace. The comfort of your love takes away my fear. I’ll never be lonely, for you are near.”

Walking faithfully with God means we follow Him when He is leading us to quiet brooks to restore our souls and when His path takes us through the valley of deepest darkness. When we do this, we find ourselves growing closer and closer to God. Reading Psalms 23, King David wasn’t talking about some far-off God. He was talking about his very own best friend. He didn’t say God was his bestie because He helped him avoid all trouble and gave him a drama free life. No. He said, even if God Himself leads me through the deepest darkness, I will not be afraid because I know He’s got my back.

We all want a ride or die friend. The kind of friend who is with us when things are going great and the one who sticks around when life is a bit how’s-it-going. Jesus is that kind of friend. He never leaves nor forsakes us. He cares about us more than we could ever know. That is why we can trust Him enough to walk closely with Him. Enough to follow Him into the valley of deepest darkness. Enough to surrender the very thing we think we need the most. Enough to lay down our hopes and dreams so we can pick up what He is calling us to. Enough to say, “Take the world and give me Jesus!”

Jesus cares. Do you know that? He cares about the things that keep you up at night, that is why He wants you to throw them at His feet, 1 Peter 5:7. This is why we can follow Him and walk with Him, because we know He is on our side. I know Jesus is Team Mel all the way, you have to know that for yourself too.

We choose to submit to Holy Spirit’s leading in our lives because we know that He is for us and wants what is best for us. Being intimate with Jesus, being a friend of God requires that you be walking in the same direction with God, especially when it is uncomfortable or downright painful. Jesus died on the cross to give us this opportunity for deep relationship. He is not asking us to do something He hasn’t already done on a much greater level.

If we really think about it, we get to live to about 120 years if we are lucky, Enoch walked faithfully with God for 300 years, so we know it can be done! With God, nothing is impossible, Luke 1:37.

Love and blessings,

Melissa Tsingano.