Faith = Jesus > MeSample

Faith is Sitting at Jesus’ Feet.

In the Bible, the first person ever mentioned as walking (Heb: ha’lak) with God was Enoch. Although this word appears several times before, the first time it’s used to describe a person walking with God is in the story of Enoch (Genesis 5:22). This story is special, because although it’s brief, we learn that Enoch was taken up by God into heaven.

Faith is all about our intimacy with God.

So how can we be close to God?

A friend from church, who has a two-year-old, shared a story. Her husband brought home a gift for their child and playfully said, “Come here and give Daddy a kiss first, then you can have it.” We all knew the dad was going to give the gift anyway, but for him, that moment of hugging and kissing his beloved child was precious.

That’s exactly the kind of moment God longs to have with us. He’s always looking for reasons to hug and hold us close.

God didn’t create us to be His slaves, as if He were some needy deity requiring our service. No, He created us so that we could walk with Him, to have a close, intimate relationship with Him. Like a child. Like a friend.

In this close relationship, we can trust God as our Father and our Friend. Just like Abraham sat with God, talking with Him like two close friends.

Or like Moses, who spoke face to face with God in the tent of meeting.

Then there’s David, a man after God’s own heart. His deep desire to always be in God’s presence is reflected in his psalms.

Another example is Mary Magdalene. When you hear her name, what image comes to mind? Yes, we picture her sitting at Jesus’ feet, right? Mary’s longing to be close to Jesus was praised by Him, even more so than Martha’s efforts to serve. There, at His feet, Mary shared an intimate fellowship with Jesus, listening, receiving, and being filled.

When we look at the lives of God’s friends—Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, or David—we see that their lives weren’t without mistakes. Some made serious errors. But they continued to walk with God; they kept close to Him.

When my kids were toddlers, I used to take them out for walks. After carrying them for a while, they’d start getting sleepy and fussy. If I tried putting them in a stroller, they’d cry because they just wanted to be held until they fell asleep. (It got tricky sometimes when we’d been walking a long distance, and I was exhausted, and they were getting heavy. Ha-ha! Sometimes, I’d try to coax them to sleep in the stroller.)

But here’s the difference between God and me: God never gets tired. Anytime we want to be held in His arms, He joyfully holds us. There, we feel safe. Whether we’re being fussy, stubborn, or anything else, He’s always ready to hold us, to let us rest and fall asleep in His embrace.

We raise our kids to become independent, and yes, it would be funny if our teenagers asked to be carried around. But that’s not how it works with our relationship with God. We remain children who long to be carried by our Heavenly Father, and God longs even more to carry us. The maturity of our faith is found in continually seeking God and asking to be held by Him, like a little child.

That’s what faith is—our intimacy with God. As simple as a child asking to be carried by their father.

God longs for us, even more than we long for Him, and He’s always looking for reasons to draw us near, to hold us, to love us. He delights when we seek Him.

Faith is coming to Him as we are, asking to be carried. Sitting at His feet. Resting in His presence.