DEPENDANCE
When we talk about walking with God, Enoch is one of the heroes of faith because his walk led to him being taken away by God. He escaped the death sentence that Adam and his descendants received when they ate of the fruit (Genesis 2–3).
As a believer, my next question is: How do I walk with God and become a hero of faith in my generation, such as those listed in Hebrews 11?
By the grace of God, it has been received that it takes:
Dependence
Intention
Watchfulness
Faithfulness
Dependence
The first step to walking with God is to realise we are dependent on Him.
We cannot do anything for ourselves; our bodies are tailor-made for God to be in the driver’s seat.
When God is not in the driver’s seat, all hell breaks loose; we are vulnerable.
Because Adam and Eve took God out of the driver’s seat by desiring to step out of the counsel of the Lord not to eat of the fruit (Genesis 6:3), the world became very different for them. They experienced shame, displacement, and the first murder came about.
When God does not drive man, the driver that takes over ruins generations. From Adam to Noah, only one son was found in each generation, and of all those, only Enoch was noted to have walked faithfully — and his grandson Noah was the only one in his generation who was able to find favour with God.
Jeremiah 10:21
The shepherds are senseless and do not enquire of the Lord; so they do not prosper, and all their flock is dispersed.
This verse shows how vital it is to enquire of the Lord.
Because the foundations of the earth were laid by His wisdom and the heavens were set by His understanding (Proverbs 3:19), we dwell on earth and therefore should consult God so that our walk on earth can prosper.
If we don’t walk with His wisdom, we will fail miserably — akin to a blind man, who is also deaf, and has no sight or hearing aids, alone in a dark room.
Jeremiah 10:12
God made the earth by His power;
He founded the world by His wisdom
And stretched out the heavens by His understanding.
The earth we live on was founded by God.
He knows where the strengths are and where the pitfalls are. The rules and structures came from His mind; He had the understanding to make it.
So it makes sense to seek the wisdom of the one who created the earth and the heavens.
Jeremiah 10:23
Lord, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps.
Since we were made in God’s likeness and image, we should always look to the blueprint to see how we are to live on the earth.
Men were created as a delegated authority; we are supposed to receive orders from God in heaven so that we can enforce His will on earth as He wills it and to His pleasure.
As the verses in Jeremiah show, God created the heavens and the earth, and it was through Him that all things were made — so all power, wisdom, and understanding come from Him.
If we, the representatives of God on earth, do not enquire of Him, we cannot prosper, as in Jeremiah 10:21, 23.
This is a man who is familiar with God; he talks to God (a prophet) and acknowledges a truth he has come to know — that people’s lives are not their own; their steps should not be directed by anyone else but God.
When Adam and Eve stepped out of this direction, they were met by doom.
I used to find it a bit odd for them to say we were created for His pleasure. Something in me wanted to rebel, but now I understand it: He took His time and formed me, breathed His spirit into me. God did not go through all that for me to then decide I know what’s best for my life.
Even if I, in my own wisdom, make something out of my own creativity, I have a purpose and a reason for it.
This is the same for us in God’s hands. Like spoilt children, we try to declare independence, but it is foolish to do so.
Even Jesus had to pray and seek the Father. He said, “I do my Father’s will,” for Him to succeed on earth.
John 4:34
My food is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to finish His work.
John 5:30
I can of myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge, and my judgement is righteous because I do not seek my own will but the will of the Father who sent me.
John 6:38
For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me.
Therefore, as believers in Jesus, we should model how He walked — He totally and utterly depended on God for all things.
Dependence is about stepping out of the way and consulting God about His will.
When you consult and God speaks, you have to judge, and for your judgement to be correct, you judge according to what He wants, not what you want.
Jesus’s ministry was successful because He stayed within the will of the Father. That’s the only way to prosper, because if it’s in God’s will, then it will come to pass.
I think some people have skewed dependence to mean that we just let life pass us by and say, “Oh, everything happens according to God’s will; God has a plan.” Yes, God has a will and God has a plan on earth, but it comes into effect through a man who hears from Him and judges what he hears righteously.
Then he can say, “I know God’s will and I am going to implement it.”
The marker of whether it was God’s will is success.
So in depending on God, you hear from Him, then you judge righteously (by not using what you want as the measure but what God wants as the measure — so you have to know God to know what He would likely want and not want), and you implement.
Ephesians 5:15–18
Be very careful, then, how you live — not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
God had to back Jesus up; all the endeavours He undertook were through the Spirit of God, which makes known to us the will of God.
Jesus, though being God, submitted to the Father.
Jesus shows us what a life depending on God looks like — it’s successful. He dismantled the devil’s work and overcame, bringing the kingdom of heaven on earth, because His ears and heart were inclined to hear the will of God.
This must have been the same dependence that Enoch had that pleased God; he was able to be taken to heaven.
So many people depended on God; they showed us what it looks like.
David, before battles, would consult God, and he never lost a battle.
1 Samuel 18:14
In everything he did, he had great success, because the Lord was with him.
David would wear an ephod before battle to consult with God and understand His intention for the battle.
We see this in 1 Samuel 30:6–8:
David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord. He said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” Abiathar brought it to him, and David enquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?” “Pursue them,” He answered. “You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue.”
David had just returned home to see his wives kidnapped. People wanted to kill him. He did not depend on himself or his own strength, but he sought the Lord, found His will, and did as God directed — and he succeeded in getting his wives and those of the men who followed him back.
Moses always met with God.
Elijah had a face-off with the prophets; he was backed up by the power that created the earth and by the authority given to him by God.
The apostles were unstoppable when God was driving.
We have so many examples throughout the Bible — the heroes of faith, the men and women we sing about today. They all have one thing in common: they depended on God.
Those who did not — who followed their own counsel, like Saul and King Asa — failed miserably and died miserable deaths.
Depend on God always. Do not rely on your own understanding. There are ways that seem wise to a man, but they are foolish only the counsel of the Lord can make a man stand.
The next step to walk with God is intentionality find the devotional here : Walking with God part 2| Intention