Devoted to God

Richard Thetford

Enoch was a man who "walked with God" according to Genesis 5:21-24. The Hebrew writer, in Hebrews 11:5 tells us what that phrase means. He said, "By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, 'and was not found, because God had taken him'; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God."

The apostle Paul's ambition was to be well-pleasing to God. He said in 2 Corinthians 5:9, "Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him." Every child of God ought to have that same ambition. We, too, can walk with God if we'll devote ourselves to pleasing Him on a daily basis.

The term "devotion" is sometimes used to describe a spiritual activity, but the word is better defined as an attitude that produces proper activity. Our word "devote" is derived from the Latin word "devotus" whose root means "to vow." Enoch and Paul had vowed (devoted or consecrated) their lives to God. God was at the center of their every thought and activity. Every duty, no matter how menial or trivial, was done to the glory of God. Pleasing their heavenly Father was the motivation behind every action.

Let us all be truly devoted and consecrated to God. Let us have a fervent desire to please our heavenly Father. "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." (James 4:8)