And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: and all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: and Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. – Genesis 5:22-24
Recently as I was finishing a time of morning devotions, I began to reflect on some of the things I had just brought before the Lord. Various needs of friends and family had been mentioned, including almost routine requests for the Lord’s attention in various life situations that our grown children were facing. As I thought on this, an expression familiar to all parents came to my mind: “Are we almost there?” I began to realize how easy it is, even when committed to serving and walking with God, to slip into what might be called “destination syndrome.”
In knowing and believing God’s promises of care in every area of our lives, we may easily slip into creating “destinations” for various stages of life. These might be educational choices, companionship selections, career decisions, and so on, which we consider to be goals or milestones in our lives. Even as we seek and receive God’s attention in one such matter, it may become easy for another “destination” to replace the one the Lord just brought us through. Perhaps He would prefer that we learn to simply enjoy the journey with Him.
In Genesis 5, we read of Enoch, who no doubt faced the same issues of life that are common to all. Yet, he so pleased the Lord in walking with Him that God ushered him into the greatest destination of all—eternal life—without encountering what many view as the greatest obstacle, physical death. If God Himself can find such pleasure in accompanying man through the journey of life, what joys might there be for us if we can relinquish a little of our “destination syndrome” mentality and simply enjoy the journey?