Walking Before God

Genesis 17:1
“And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.”

Walking in the presence of God should be the desire of every believer. When I think of walking in the presence of God, I think of Adam and Eve in the garden when they had the privilege of talking with God in the cool of the day. I think of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus who said after they spent time with Jesus, “Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way…” These times with God must have been amazing times to spend with the God of the universe and to hear Him talk to them.

God said to Abram in the verse above, “…walk before me, and be thou perfect.” This little phrase meant that Abram could walk with God as Adam and Eve, and the two disciples who walked with God. God said that if Abram would “walk before” Him, that he would enjoy God’s blessings, that he would be exceeding fruitful, that his influence would multiply in the land where he dwelled, and that he would be able to develop a close relationship with God. All of this would happen if Abram walked before God.

However, walking before God would result in several things happening in Abram’s life. You will notice that the verse above says, “…walk before me, and…” The word “and” means being perfect would follow. The word “perfect” does not mean that he would be sinless, but it meant that his perception of several things would happen. Let me share how walking before God will change your perception.

First, walking before God changes your expectations. When you walk before God, you will begin to expect nothing less than excellence. God is not a God of mediocrity, but He is a God of excellence. Walking before God will change your expectations of how you do things for Him.

Second, walking before God changes your perception of sin. When you walk before God, you will want to quickly remove the sin that would hinder your fellowship with the Saviour. You will never walk with God and be careless about the sin in your life. The only reason you have become careless about the sin in your life is because you have stopped walking close to the Saviour. When you walk with God, sin will become distasteful and disgusting.

Third, walking before God makes you live a principled life. The word “perfect” also means to be exact. In other words, you will become precise and purposeful with everything that you do. Change will not be a part of your life when you walk with God. The closer you get to God, the more principled your walk with God and in life will be.

Fourth, walking before God matures you naturally. You can’t walk with God and not grow. Growth is a natural process of walking before God. The verse above says, “be thou perfect.” The word “be” is a present tense word which means that you will do what you already know is right, and doing what is right helps you to grow into maturity.

Fifth, walking before God makes you cognizant that your life is on display before God. God sees everything you do, and this should cause you to think about not doing anything that would disappoint Him. It all comes down to you choosing to walk before Him. You have God’s Word that walking before Him brings His favor and blessings on your life.

Author: Allen Domelle