God is looking for not only a clinging bride
but also a walking partner. From the very
beginning, God had a relationship with
Adam and Eve that found them "walking in
the garden in the cool of the day" (Genesis
3:8). God created man for the enjoyment of
a walking relationship that involved
companionship, dialogue, intimacy, joint
decision-making, mutual delight, and shared
dominion. God longs to walk with you,
which is why his arms of grace have been
pulling you into a closer walk with him.
My wife, Marci, loves to go walking with her
friend, Wendy. They talk the whole time.
Nonstop. The walk not only makes exercise
fun, it also deepens their friendship. Jesus
went on these kinds of walks with his
disciples, and he still likes to walk with us
this way today.
The secret place is not the destination; it is
only the catalyst. It is designed of God to
establish us in an intimate friendship with
him that is walked out through the course
of our everyday lives. The goal we're after is
an everyday walk of unbroken communion
with our Lord and friend.
Enoch was the first man in the Bible who
walked with God:
After he begot Methuselah,
Enoch walked with God
three hundred years, and
had sons and daughters.
So all the days of Enoch
were three hundred and
sixty-five years. And Enoch
walked with God; and he
was not, for God took him
(Genesis 5:22–24).
Even though men began to call upon the
name of the Lord in the early days (Genesis
4:26), Enoch was the first man to uncover
the true delight of walking with God. He
found something even Adam didn't
experience. He pressed into God until he
learned how to commune with God through
every facet of life. To find that dimension of
relationship certainly required an intense
spiritual pursuit, and then when he found it,
the Lord made a graphic statement by
taking him up to heaven.
By taking Enoch up to glory, God wasn't
trying to get us impressed with Enoch's
piety. Nor was God saying, "If you get to be
as spiritual as Enoch, you'll get taken up to
heaven, too." This was a unique experience
God used to emphasize a specific point.
God's point was, "I love to walk with man!
Enoch was the first man to truly walk with
me, so I decided to highlight his example by
doing something extraordinary with him. I
took him up to paradise to underscore how
much I value and desire a daily walking
relationship with my chosen ones." Enoch's
example continues to witness to all
generations of the great zeal God has to
walk with man.
When the zeal of God captures you, it will
ignite you with a great passion to walk with
God and to be his friend. Imagine being
Enoch and living 365 years—and having this
growing relationship with God! One can
only wonder what glorious depths of
intimacy Enoch uncovered. Perhaps Enoch's
heart longed so deeply for more of God that
God grew weary of withholding himself.
Maybe God's heart was saying, "Enoch, you
love me with such a pure and sweet
passion, I don't want to say 'no' to you
anymore. I'm going to answer your prayer
and show you my face. Come on up!"
As you draw close to God, he will not likely
take you up to heaven as he did Enoch.
However, he does desire to reveal the
beauty of his face to you. As we walk with
him, he will open the Scriptures to us
through the Spirit of wisdom and revelation
and reveal to us the light of the glory of
God that is to be found in him.
When we walk with God, we enter the
dimension where God unfolds the secrets of
his kingdom. These are the paths that the
ancients trod before us. Noah knew the
secret of walking with God (Genesis 6:9), as
did Abraham (Genesis 24:40). Through
Christ, you can explore the glorious riches
of knowing God like they did—and to even a
greater degree because of the Spirit which
has been given to us!
God wants to walk with us before he works
through us. So he will wait to act until he
finds the right man or woman through
whom he can work. To put it bluntly, God
works with his friends. When God has a
friend, divine activity accelerates. When God
has a useful vessel that has been prepared
for noble purposes, he will use that vessel.
To illustrate, if you put a riding lawn mower
in my garage, I promise you this—I will use
it! Similarly, God will use the one who walks
with him. But he's looking especially for
three crucial qualities: humility,
faithfulness, and loyalty. He wants to work
with friends who are loyal to him, no matter
what. Even when circumstances would
suggest God is unjust, his true friends
continue to walk with him. So the Lord will
test our fidelity. When we prove ourselves
his friends through the greatest calamities
of life, we qualify as useful vessels.
Jesus was the quintessential example of a
man who walked with God, he walked so
closely with God that he was always in the
Spirit, even when shaking himself awake
from a groggy sleep. When I first wake up,
I'm sometimes grumpy or dopey. But when
they awakened Jesus out of a deep sleep,
he silenced the storm! What an amazing
attainment, to be awakened out of a dead
sleep and be instantly in the Spirit.
The secret place is where we develop a
walking relationship with God. We must
develop a secret history with God before he
gives us a public history before people.
Hidden in the secret place, we learn what
he's looking for in friends, and we find out
what pleases him. Our inner chamber with
him becomes our training ground for a life
that is rooted and grounded in love.
Jesus told us that he confides his kingdom
purposes to his friends (John 15:15). Lord,
I want to be your friend, your confidant,
loyal to the death. I want to walk with you,
talk with you, listen to you, hear your heart,
and participate in your activities in this
momentous hour. Teach me. Lord, to walk
with you!
Bob Sorge
but also a walking partner. From the very
beginning, God had a relationship with
Adam and Eve that found them "walking in
the garden in the cool of the day" (Genesis
3:8). God created man for the enjoyment of
a walking relationship that involved
companionship, dialogue, intimacy, joint
decision-making, mutual delight, and shared
dominion. God longs to walk with you,
which is why his arms of grace have been
pulling you into a closer walk with him.
My wife, Marci, loves to go walking with her
friend, Wendy. They talk the whole time.
Nonstop. The walk not only makes exercise
fun, it also deepens their friendship. Jesus
went on these kinds of walks with his
disciples, and he still likes to walk with us
this way today.
The secret place is not the destination; it is
only the catalyst. It is designed of God to
establish us in an intimate friendship with
him that is walked out through the course
of our everyday lives. The goal we're after is
an everyday walk of unbroken communion
with our Lord and friend.
Enoch was the first man in the Bible who
walked with God:
After he begot Methuselah,
Enoch walked with God
three hundred years, and
had sons and daughters.
So all the days of Enoch
were three hundred and
sixty-five years. And Enoch
walked with God; and he
was not, for God took him
(Genesis 5:22–24).
Even though men began to call upon the
name of the Lord in the early days (Genesis
4:26), Enoch was the first man to uncover
the true delight of walking with God. He
found something even Adam didn't
experience. He pressed into God until he
learned how to commune with God through
every facet of life. To find that dimension of
relationship certainly required an intense
spiritual pursuit, and then when he found it,
the Lord made a graphic statement by
taking him up to heaven.
By taking Enoch up to glory, God wasn't
trying to get us impressed with Enoch's
piety. Nor was God saying, "If you get to be
as spiritual as Enoch, you'll get taken up to
heaven, too." This was a unique experience
God used to emphasize a specific point.
God's point was, "I love to walk with man!
Enoch was the first man to truly walk with
me, so I decided to highlight his example by
doing something extraordinary with him. I
took him up to paradise to underscore how
much I value and desire a daily walking
relationship with my chosen ones." Enoch's
example continues to witness to all
generations of the great zeal God has to
walk with man.
When the zeal of God captures you, it will
ignite you with a great passion to walk with
God and to be his friend. Imagine being
Enoch and living 365 years—and having this
growing relationship with God! One can
only wonder what glorious depths of
intimacy Enoch uncovered. Perhaps Enoch's
heart longed so deeply for more of God that
God grew weary of withholding himself.
Maybe God's heart was saying, "Enoch, you
love me with such a pure and sweet
passion, I don't want to say 'no' to you
anymore. I'm going to answer your prayer
and show you my face. Come on up!"
As you draw close to God, he will not likely
take you up to heaven as he did Enoch.
However, he does desire to reveal the
beauty of his face to you. As we walk with
him, he will open the Scriptures to us
through the Spirit of wisdom and revelation
and reveal to us the light of the glory of
God that is to be found in him.
When we walk with God, we enter the
dimension where God unfolds the secrets of
his kingdom. These are the paths that the
ancients trod before us. Noah knew the
secret of walking with God (Genesis 6:9), as
did Abraham (Genesis 24:40). Through
Christ, you can explore the glorious riches
of knowing God like they did—and to even a
greater degree because of the Spirit which
has been given to us!
God wants to walk with us before he works
through us. So he will wait to act until he
finds the right man or woman through
whom he can work. To put it bluntly, God
works with his friends. When God has a
friend, divine activity accelerates. When God
has a useful vessel that has been prepared
for noble purposes, he will use that vessel.
To illustrate, if you put a riding lawn mower
in my garage, I promise you this—I will use
it! Similarly, God will use the one who walks
with him. But he's looking especially for
three crucial qualities: humility,
faithfulness, and loyalty. He wants to work
with friends who are loyal to him, no matter
what. Even when circumstances would
suggest God is unjust, his true friends
continue to walk with him. So the Lord will
test our fidelity. When we prove ourselves
his friends through the greatest calamities
of life, we qualify as useful vessels.
Jesus was the quintessential example of a
man who walked with God, he walked so
closely with God that he was always in the
Spirit, even when shaking himself awake
from a groggy sleep. When I first wake up,
I'm sometimes grumpy or dopey. But when
they awakened Jesus out of a deep sleep,
he silenced the storm! What an amazing
attainment, to be awakened out of a dead
sleep and be instantly in the Spirit.
The secret place is where we develop a
walking relationship with God. We must
develop a secret history with God before he
gives us a public history before people.
Hidden in the secret place, we learn what
he's looking for in friends, and we find out
what pleases him. Our inner chamber with
him becomes our training ground for a life
that is rooted and grounded in love.
Jesus told us that he confides his kingdom
purposes to his friends (John 15:15). Lord,
I want to be your friend, your confidant,
loyal to the death. I want to walk with you,
talk with you, listen to you, hear your heart,
and participate in your activities in this
momentous hour. Teach me. Lord, to walk
with you!
Bob Sorge
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