We are not told how Enoch manifested his justifying faith. My guess would be that his mind was on God continually. Really, the core of faith is love for God and trust in Him.

So often today we hear of formulas by which people hope to get something from God. If we do this, that, or the next thing, God will hear our prayers. God will give us power, money, success, peace, or whatever.

There is a better way. It is to love God without thought of how we will benefit. God is our Father. We love our Father because He is our Father, not because we get something from Him for loving Him. This is ridiculous!

All creatures were made for God's pleasure. Our life is significant only if we give God pleasure.

God is leading us to perfect joy. But sometimes this necessitates prolonged periods of denial or even suffering. It does not matter when or where we receive joy. We know we shall from the unchanging Word. But it does not matter too much. What really is important is that God is pleased with us.

If God is pleased with our life, whether or not we have had much joy, then our life has been significant.

But if God has not been pleased with us, our life has not been significant even though it has consisted of one joyful incident after another.

The thoughtful believer does not want to come to the end of his sojourn and discover his time on earth has been without significance.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6—NIV)

As I said previously, a contemplation of the physical world speaks loudly and clearly of the existence of God. It is not difficult to choose to believe there is a God, in light of what we know of the world. If we do have difficulty believing in God, we can pray for faith that there is a God. More than that, we can do what Jesus said in the Gospels; for the Lord stated if we did what He said we would know of His doctrine, whether He spoke as a man or from God.

In fact, this is how I started my Christian life—praying for faith and then doing what Jesus said in the Gospels. That was over fifty years ago, and I am convinced. There is no way in which the events of my life could have occurred randomly. The probability of this is too remote to be worth considering.

As for God being a rewarder of those who earnestly seek Him, this is a crucial understanding, especially for young people. With all the allurements of the present American culture, it is difficult for a young person to turn away from the seductions of the world and take the time to seek the Lord. He or she must be absolutely convinced that joy will be found in prayer.

To be continued.