Recently, I have been wrestling with the issue of greatness. More specifically, wondering if God will use my life to accomplish some great thing and what that great thing is. Amazingly (I know I shouldn't be amazed...but I was) on the very day that I was journaling about that question...God answered it through a friend that I had just met. He was sharing his story and mentioned a very obscure passage of scripture that God had used in his life.
The passage is Genesis 5:24 "Enoch walked with God and he was no more, for God took him", New American Standard Version.
That's all it says but it spoke volumes to me as soon as I heard it. It doesn't speak of brave and heroic feats of faith or even benevolent acts of sacrifice....it just says that Enoch walked with God. What if for the rest of my life, all I do is walk with God? In Enoch's case, it was apparently enough to please God so much that he couldn't stand not having Enoch in His physical presence....so he just took Him. There are very few great men in the Bible who achieved that distinctive honor. In fact, the only other members of the "ascension club" are Elijah and ...Jesus. Everyone else got into God's presence the old fashioned way.
To be honest, it really takes the pressure off. But, I have also realized that I have just simply become aware of something that has been in front of me all along. When describing God's approval or dissaproval, Jesus uses phrases like "depart from me, I never knew you" or "well done, my good and FAITHFUL servant". These phrases are relational in nature. The "great things" that were done throughout the Bible were simply acts of obedience to the voice of God and that voice was recognized only because the hearer's had been walking with God.
The simplicity of this truth is so freeing for someone like me who is 35 years old and is on the verge of a mini-midlife crisis. Up to this point, I have walked with God as best as I know how, and as far as I know, I am where He has called me to be. I may or may not accomplish some "great thing" by the world's standards (and even by Sunday School standards) but I'm not responsible for that. I am simply called to walk with God and if that's all I do for the rest of my life, then that will be my "great thing" and I will get to hear words reserved for people who do great things...."well done, my good and faithful servant".
The passage is Genesis 5:24 "Enoch walked with God and he was no more, for God took him", New American Standard Version.
That's all it says but it spoke volumes to me as soon as I heard it. It doesn't speak of brave and heroic feats of faith or even benevolent acts of sacrifice....it just says that Enoch walked with God. What if for the rest of my life, all I do is walk with God? In Enoch's case, it was apparently enough to please God so much that he couldn't stand not having Enoch in His physical presence....so he just took Him. There are very few great men in the Bible who achieved that distinctive honor. In fact, the only other members of the "ascension club" are Elijah and ...Jesus. Everyone else got into God's presence the old fashioned way.
To be honest, it really takes the pressure off. But, I have also realized that I have just simply become aware of something that has been in front of me all along. When describing God's approval or dissaproval, Jesus uses phrases like "depart from me, I never knew you" or "well done, my good and FAITHFUL servant". These phrases are relational in nature. The "great things" that were done throughout the Bible were simply acts of obedience to the voice of God and that voice was recognized only because the hearer's had been walking with God.
The simplicity of this truth is so freeing for someone like me who is 35 years old and is on the verge of a mini-midlife crisis. Up to this point, I have walked with God as best as I know how, and as far as I know, I am where He has called me to be. I may or may not accomplish some "great thing" by the world's standards (and even by Sunday School standards) but I'm not responsible for that. I am simply called to walk with God and if that's all I do for the rest of my life, then that will be my "great thing" and I will get to hear words reserved for people who do great things...."well done, my good and faithful servant".
1 comment:
You are not alone Benji. Wait until you are in your mid fourties and you recycle these feelings over and over again. Hang onto this devotion in your back pocket. It will be a constant encouragement. Thanks for sharing. You know for being a quiet guy you have a great depth of profoundness and you know how to put it into words even without music. Keep blogging. Many of us need someone like you to put into words the things we can't figure out how to say. Your posting was a "great" thing you did for God and all of us this day. Blessings, Theresa (Jack's surrogate mother)
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