Cheri Strange encourages women to live lives that yearn for God in all that they do as a speaker, writer, and blogger through She Yearns Ministries. Dr. Strange holds a PhD. from Baylor University in Educational Psychology, and two degrees from Hardin Simmons University. She is a YouVersion Partner and contributor, a national speaker, an author with AMG Publishers and Surrey House Press, the president and founder of She Yearns Ministries, and writes and produces a weekly podcast. Over 600,000 users have subscribed to her devotional content on the YouVersion app and Bible.com in five different languages. Cheri is the author of Life Principles for Living Out the Greatest Commandment, with video and leader’s guide, A PrayerJournal for Responding to Love, andA Journal for Waiting Well. In addition to ministry responsibilities, Cheri and her husband are raising eight children, two of whom are biological, and six are adopted internationally. Believing that God never calls us to half-hearted pursuit or sets us up for failure, Cheri strives to use Scripture to lead, stir and encourage others to seek His Kingdom rather than our own, always and only for His glory. In her spare time, she hangs out with Max and Lola, her French herding dogs and Zeke, and her grumpy Main Coon cat.
Sometimes I wonder if the Lord was upside down and backwards when He orchestrated my life. Eight children underfoot with sundry other responsibilities cuts down on my Me Time, that’s for certain. I hardly sit down or sleep. Finishing a meal is a rarity. Oh sure, if I lived in a little cabin in the woods by myself, or better yet, a beach house on the coast, consuming nothing but seaweed and coconut juice, I might be able to pray in silence for hours at a time. Then I’d be able to walk closely with the Lord. But never THIS life. Not with THESE KIDS who expect to eat several times a day, and wear clean clothes every single week. I haven’t even mentioned the ministry responsibilities because most days I can hardly keep myself straight on who to pick up or where much less ponder anything beyond life’s necessities.
This is where Enoch’s example can get lost on someone like me—blinded by responsibilities, supposing she has been given a pass because her lot in life is God-ordained.
Maybe it would have been easier for Enoch if he had lived on the beach and settled for seaweed and coconut juice, too. But that wasn’t an option. Instead, he was the head of a family. We know he was married and he fathered Methuselah, as well as several other children (Genesis 5:22-24
After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch lived in close fellowship with God for another 300 years, and he had other sons and daughters. Enoch lived 365 years, walking in close fellowship with God. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him.
OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)
). Enoch went beyond meeting his own necessities, demonstrating before his family and his culture what it looked like to walk with God in the middle of regular life. We don’t know the details, but we know human nature in relationships. He, no doubt, faced argumentative, back-stabbing, power-playing characters across the centuries. Yet his life served as an example for the kind of closeness God desires for all His children. This relationship became a lifestyle that went with Enoch into any season, difficulty, or transition. His was a fellowship with God that continued for over an astounding 300 years.
What we learn from Enoch is that you and I don’t need a sabbatical from our regular life to find time to walk with God. Upside down and backwards works just fine. We don’t need a special Bible, less responsibility, fewer kids, a lighter schedule, or a permanent diet of tree roots and carrot juice. Like Enoch, we just need a commitment to walk with God.
Consider taking one of the following steps forward today:
The first thirty: Sometimes meeting God before the day begins is not possible. Think about the first thirty minutes of your day when you could do something else, like look at your phone, read, organize something, or catch up on a series. Instead, spend that first thirty minutes with the Lord.
Establish a meeting place: Similarly to habitually meeting a friend or associate for lunch or coffee, decide on a specific location to meet with God. Make the commitment to be there.
Set an alarm: Let’s face it. We are not going to find any more time. We are likely going to sleep through, work past, or ignore the responsibility unless it becomes our priority. Set an alarm on your phone when you are going to spend time with God. Maybe you will not need it one day, but even if you do, I pray your time becomes so precious, you won’t remember what you spent it on before.
Today as you pray, thank God for how He has orchestrated your life. Then begin asking the Lord about one thing you can do to walk with Him more closely in your regular everyday life.
