A Walk Worth Living

Genesis 17

Abram is now ninety-nine years old. Thirteen years have passed since his encounter with God, when he was called to look up at the stars (Genesis 15:5). During those years of waiting, there was no new word from God, with no visible progress in sight—just silence from heaven. And then suddenly, God appeared and introduced Himself to Abram in a new way, saying, “I am the Almighty God; walk before Me, and be blameless” (Genesis 17:1). This was not just a call to believe in God’s existence—it is a call to walk personally in the mightiness of God.

God revealed Himself in the Hebrew language as “El Shaddai,” or in English as “God Almighty,” meaning He is the all-sufficient One, the One who does not need help and does not depend on an ounce of human effort. And in light of revealing another layer of His nature and character, He called Abram to live differently, transparently, walking “before Me, and be blameless” (Genesis 17:1). “Blameless” does not necessarily mean what we would deem as “perfect,” but more along the lines of living an honest, sincere life before God—one that is without hypocrisy, without a double standard, a life that can be modeled by others that corresponds to a heart truly surrendered to God Almighty.

Abram’s response speaks of nothing less than true humility, as he “fell on his face” before God’s command (Genesis 17:3, 17). Before God changed his name from Abram to Abraham, before the promise to him is expanded, and before anything else is unveiled, Abram is brought to a posture of humble worship. This scene reveals that a true walk with God begins with a surrendered heart. Abram’s worship of God preceded his walk with Him.

With a heart that had been prepared, God began to speak to Abram in a series of powerful “I will” statements: “I will make thee exceeding fruitful… I will make nations of thee… I will establish my covenant… I will give unto thee… I will bless her… I will give thee a son also of her” (Genesis 17:6–7, 8, 16). Over and over again, God makes it clear—this covenant is not built on Abram’s ability, but on God’s mighty faithfulness.

With this call came a change of name. Abram became Abraham— “exalted father” to “father of many nations” (Genesis 17:5). God raised the bar, upped the game, all to reveal that present and posterity were all dependent upon God. And Abram knew it. God gave Abram a promise that was illustrated by the stars in the night sky; He established Abram’s identity in what He would accomplish in his life.

It was during this encounter that “Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed” (Genesis 17:17). It was not a laugh of unbelief, but rather a laugh expressing an overwhelming sense of God’s Almighty goodness. But even in that goodness, the human tendency to help God accomplish His plan was revealed when he offered an alternative option, saying, “O that Ishmael might live before thee!” (Genesis 17:18). Even in the midst of his faith and acceptance of what God had promised, and like many of us in our prayer lives today, he tried to suggest his own humansolution into God’s plan. God was not deterred and responded that “Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed” (Genesis 17:19), revealing that the promise would come only through Sarah, his ninety-year-old wife.

This story resonates with many of us because we can believe and certainly feel good about the promises of God, but then at times still try to manage the outcome, or the means, to help Him accomplish those promises. It’s a human mistake we can all make, but God is gracious as He brings us closer to Him, as we walk before Him.

Then God establishes the sign of the covenant: circumcision (Genesis 17:10–11). Not as a means of salvation—Abraham was already justified by faith (Genesis 15:6)—but as a sign of consecration. It did not save him—it marked him. It was an outward sign of an inward reality, a visible expression that he belonged to God.

After all unfolds, God gets even more personal with Abraham by initiating the covenant of circumcision. What is remarkable is how Abraham responds. No delay. No hesitation. “In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised” (Genesis 17:26). After years of waiting, struggling, and even failing, Abraham now walks in immediate obedience, both publicly and privately. This is what a life touched by God looks like—not perfection, but direction; not striving, but surrender; not hesitation, but obedience—and there was no disconnect between his public life and private devotion to God Almighty.

So what does this mean for us today? Genesis 17 is not calling us to become more religious—it is calling us to walk humbly with the living God, both privately and publicly. The words of Jesus are a great reminder that, like Abraham and Sarah’s age was a human inability, we must remember that “without Me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5).

So here is the question: are we walking with God casually, or are we walking before the God who is Almighty and desires to accomplish great things in our lives today?

Here is the truth that anchors it all: the same God who called Abraham is calling you, the same God who made the promise is the One who will fulfill it (1 Thessalonians 5:24), and the same God who said, “Walk before Me,” is the One who will walk with you every step of the way. God is the Promise Maker and also the ultimate Promise Keeper—because He is God Almighty.