Walking with God

While in prayer the other day, God brought to my attention the passage in Genesis 3 where God walked in the garden in the cool of the day. (Gen 3:8)  When I looked it up, it said that Adam and Eve heard the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid themselves from God because they were naked.  They hid from God because they were naked, not because they feared God or because He startled them, but because of the shame of their sin. They must have been accustomed to seeing Him in the garden; they were not afraid because they saw God, or because He was unknown to them.

I am reminded of other people who walked with God in Genesis: 5:24 Enoch walked  with God. 6:9 Noah walked with God. 17:1 Abram walked with God. 24:40 Abraham walked with God. 48:15 Abraham and Isaac walked with God.

What does that mean that they walked with God?  Adam and Eve physically walked with God in the garden, the other men spiritually walked with God. Enoch was so close to God that God took him to be with Himself, not waiting for Enoch to physically die.

I have spent the past month walking with a friend 3 days/week.  We usually spend an hour together, sometimes a little more. What I have learned by walking is that you can not just walk.  It is a natural extension of the walk to talk, to share concerns, to share frustrations, to share dreams, to share memories, and to share your life. I am forming a bond and a friendship with my friend that will be very difficult to break.  As we share our lives, I can't help but leave our time together thinking about the things we have discussed. These thoughts lead me to pray for her, to encourage her, and to long for more time to spend with her. Walking with her allows me to know her in a way that would have otherwise been impossible.

I think walking with God as these men and women did describes their personal relationship and commitment to Him.  They could not wait for more time to be spent with God.  God was not some far off deity, but a real person whom they could talk to: to share their concerns, frustrations, dreams, memories, their thankfulness, and their praise.

As I grow in my walk with Christ, I find that I too cannot wait another day, another hour, another minute, or even a moment to be with Him.  I find myself talking to Him, pondering things with Him, and eager to read His word and find out more about Him. I am not claiming to be "walking with Jesus" just as the men and women in Genesis.  My walk is my own. But, I will claim that as I pray, and read, and understand the word of God the more time I want to spend with Him; I cannot be satisfied with a once a week bit of ceremony that takes place in the church.  I want to walk with God every day and I won't settle for less.