To Walk With God

The Call to A Blameless Life

A Quiet Commendation in the Temple

He was old. The kind of old that had seen empires rise and fall, promises delayed, and prayers repeated with no reply. Yet Simeon waited. Not passively, but with a posture of expectancy—”righteous and devout,” Luke tells us, “waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him” (Luke 2:25, ESV). When he finally held the infant Jesus in his arms, he didn’t just see a baby. He saw the fulfillment of a life walked faithfully. His words were not dramatic, but they were definitive: “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace” (Luke 2:29, ESV).

Simeon’s story is quiet, tucked into the early chapters of Luke. But it echoes a deeper biblical pattern—one that stretches from Enoch to Barnabas, from Noah to Paul. Scripture doesn’t just record what these people did. It tells us how they walked.

The Vocabulary of Faithfulness

Throughout the Bible, certain phrases rise above the narrative. They’re not just descriptors; they’re divine commendations. “Blameless and upright.” “Walked with God.” “Full of the Holy Spirit.” These aren’t titles earned through achievement—they’re markers of alignment, of lives lived in covenantal fidelity. And they’re not reserved for prophets or patriarchs. They’re invitations to all of us.

The biblical call is not merely to believe, but to walk. To live in a manner worthy of the calling we’ve received (Ephesians 4:1, ESV). To run with endurance the race set before us (Hebrews 12:1, ESV). To walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16, ESV). This article traces those phrases, those lives, and that call—and asks what it means to walk this called life out.

Commendations of Faithfulness

In the Old Testament, the term “blameless” translates the Hebrew tamîm, which literally means “complete,” “whole,” or “sound.” It conveys moral and spiritual integrity rather than sinless perfection. To be tamîm is to live without duplicity, exhibiting consistent obedience and covenantal faithfulness—not to claim flawless performance but to reflect a heart wholly devoted to God’s revealed will.

Similarly, “upright” comes from the Hebrew yāšār (יָשָׁר), meaning “straight,” “right,” or “just.” An upright person’s life is marked by actions that align with God’s standards, producing justice and integrity in daily conduct. This descriptor affirms a life of reliable character rather than implying absence of struggle or failure.

The phrase “walked with God” (halak ʿim ʾĕlōhîm) emphasizes relational intimacy and ongoing fellowship. Halak carries the sense of walking alongside, indicating a dynamic journey of trust and obedience. When we read that Noah “walked with God” (Genesis 6:9) or Enoch “walked with God” (Genesis 5:24), the commendation isn’t that they never erred, but that their lives maintained consistent communion and alignment with God’s direction.

In the New Testament, to be “full of the Holy Spirit” (Greek plērēs pneumatos) denotes empowerment for faithful witness and service. It speaks to one whose character, speech, and ministry flow from Spirit-led conviction, not a flawless record. Stephen’s bold proclamation and Barnabas’s generous encouragement stemmed from this Spirit-filled posture, marking them as dependable vessels for God’s work—even amid persecution.

These phrases of commendation—blameless, upright, walked with God, full of the Spirit—point us toward covenantal fidelity and empowered integrity, not unrealistic perfection. They invite us into a posture of humility, dependence, and disciplined obedience, trusting that God’s grace upholds us even when our journey includes missteps.

The Commended Ones and the Called Life

Enoch: The First to Walk With God

Before the flood, before the law, before the covenant with Abraham, there was Enoch. “Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him” (Genesis 5:24, ESV). No miracles. No sermons. Just a walk (halak ʿim ʾĕlōhîm). His life is a mystery, but his commendation is clear: he lived in such communion with God that death did not interrupt it.

Enoch’s story sets the precedent for all who follow. To walk with God is not to perform, but to align. And that alignment becomes even more striking when the world around you begins to unravel—as the next generation would discover.

Noah: Blameless in His Generation

Just a few chapters later, the world is filled with violence and corruption. But Noah stands apart. “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God” (Genesis 6:9, ESV). Here we see both terms united: Noah’s blameless (tamîm) life was evidenced in his walk (halak) with God. His righteousness wasn’t abstract—it was embodied in obedience, in the building of an ark when no one else believed. His walk was visible, costly, and salvific.

Where Enoch walked in quiet intimacy, Noah walked in bold resistance. His life reminds us that walking with God often means walking against the grain of culture, even when the cost is high. This tension between divine calling and human opposition would echo through the generations, finding its next expression in the life of a nomad named Abraham.

Abraham: Called to Walk Before God

From the floodwaters to the desert sands, the story shifts to Abraham. When God initiates covenant, He doesn’t begin with sacrifice or law. He begins with a walk. “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless” (Genesis 17:1, ESV). The Hebrew tamîm appears again, but now coupled with a new dimension—walking “before” (lipnê) God rather than simply “with” Him. Abraham’s life was marked by trust—leaving home, believing promises, offering Isaac. His walk was not perfect, but it was faithful.

Abraham’s journey reframes the walk as pilgrimage. It’s not just about moral integrity—it’s about trusting the voice that calls you forward, even when the destination is unknown. This pioneering trust would be tested most severely in a man who walked not in promise, but in pain.

Job: Blameless and Upright

If Abraham’s walk was shaped by promise, Job’s was tested by suffering. “There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil” (Job 1:1, ESV). Here both Hebrew terms appear together: Job was both tamîm (blameless) and yāšār (upright). His commendation is not based on prosperity, but on integrity. Even in suffering, Job’s walk remained tethered to reverence.

Job’s story introduces a crucial tension: being tamîm does not guarantee ease. To walk with God is to remain yāšār (upright) even when the ground beneath you shakes. This integrity under pressure would find its most famous expression in a shepherd boy who became a king.

David: A Man After God’s Own Heart

From the ash heap to the throne room, we meet David. His life is messy—marked by triumph and failure. Yet Scripture calls him “a man after [God’s] own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22, ESV). This phrase doesn’t speak to moral perfection but to covenantal alignment—David’s heart consistently turned toward God’s purposes and submitted to His will, even in failure. His walk was not sinless, but it was repentant. He knew how to return, how to cry out, how to trust in mercy. His psalms are the soundtrack of a heart that walked with God.

David’s walk reminds us that the path is not linear. It winds through valleys and victories, but what matters is the heart that keeps turning toward God. This pattern of faithful return would inspire future kings who sought to walk in David’s footsteps.

Hezekiah: Wholehearted Devotion

Generations later, in a time of national compromise, Hezekiah steps forward as a king who embodied David’s heart for God’s purposes. Facing death, he pleads with God: “Please, O Lord, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight” (Isaiah 38:3, ESV). The Hebrew šālēm (whole heart) echoes the completeness of tamîm—his life was marked by reform, tearing down idols, restoring worship, trusting God against invading armies.

Hezekiah’s walk is a call to courage. To walk with God is to walk against idolatry, to lead with integrity, and to trust that faithfulness matters even when the odds are stacked against you. This courage in the face of opposition would find perhaps its greatest Old Testament expression in the life of an exile.

Daniel: Trustworthy and Uncorrupted

From Jerusalem to Babylon, Daniel’s story unfolds in exile. “Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel… but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him” (Daniel 6:4, ESV). Daniel embodied what it means to be tamîm—whole and uncorrupted—even in a foreign land. His walk was disciplined, prayerful, principled, and public. Even lions could not devour his devotion.

Daniel’s life shows us that the walk is not confined to sacred spaces. It can flourish in boardrooms, courtrooms, and lion’s dens—wherever faithfulness is lived out with resolve. All these Old Testament saints pointed forward to One who would walk among us perfectly.

Simeon and Anna: Faithful in Waiting

In the quiet corners of the temple, two aged saints embody a different kind of walk. “Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout… and the Holy Spirit was upon him” (Luke 2:25, ESV). Anna “did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day” (Luke 2:37, ESV). Both were marked by the Spirit’s presence (pneumatos), their walk patient, prayerful, and prophetic.

Simeon and Anna remind us that walking with God is not always active—it is often attentive. It is the long obedience of waiting, watching, and worshiping. Their faithfulness bridged the old covenant and the new, pointing to the church age where being “full of the Holy Spirit” would mark a new generation of believers.

Stephen and Barnabas: Full of the Spirit

As the church begins to spread, new names emerge with familiar commendations. “They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” (plērēs pneumatos, Acts 6:5, ESV). Barnabas was “a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith” (plērēs pneumatos, Acts 11:24, ESV). Their walk was bold—preaching, serving, suffering. The Spirit didn’t just empower them; it defined them, just as it had Simeon and Anna.

Their stories show us that the walk is communal. It’s lived in service, in generosity, in proclamation. It’s a Spirit-filled life that bears witness in word and deed, carrying forward the same divine commendations that marked the faithful from the beginning.

Knowing These Things, How Should We Then Live?

The lives of Noah, Job, Simeon, and others are not preserved merely for admiration—they are recorded for imitation. Scripture does not present faithfulness as a rare achievement, but as a daily invitation. The commendations—”blameless,” “upright,” “walked with God,” “full of the Holy Spirit”—are not unattainable ideals. They are lived realities, shaped by choices, rhythms, and postures available to every believer.

So how should we then live?

Cultivate Reverent Fear

Job’s commendation begins here: “one who feared God and turned away from evil” (Job 1:1, ESV). This fear is not terror—it is awe. It is the recognition that God is holy, sovereign, and near. Abraham was told, “Walk before me, and be blameless” (Genesis 17:1, ESV). Reverence is not passive—it is directional, shaping how we speak, spend, and suffer. Like Job’s tamîm integrity, our reverence becomes the foundation for every other aspect of faithful living.

Choose Obedience, Even in Isolation

Noah built an ark in a world that mocked him. Daniel prayed in a city that outlawed it. Hezekiah tore down idols in a culture that tolerated them. Their walk (halak) was not shaped by consensus, but by conviction. “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation” (Genesis 6:9, ESV). Obedience is often lonely, but it is the path of those who are called tamîm (complete, whole). Sometimes faithfulness means standing alone, trusting that God sees what others cannot.

Practice Repentance and Return

David’s walk was marked by return. After his sin, he cried out, “Create in me a clean heart, O God… restore to me the joy of your salvation” (Psalm 51:10,12, ESV). His heart “after God’s own heart” was not perfect but penitent, consistently realigning with God’s purposes. Repentance is not a detour—it’s part of the walk. It is the rhythm of a life that refuses to hide, that trusts in mercy, that believes restoration is possible.

Depend on the Spirit’s Power

Stephen and Barnabas were “full of the Holy Spirit and of faith” (plērēs pneumatos, Acts 6:5; 11:24, ESV), just as Simeon had been before them. Their walk was empowered, not manufactured. To walk with God is to walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16, ESV)—yielding, listening, responding, letting the fruit of the Spirit become the evidence of our walk. This is not about conjuring spiritual experiences but about consistent dependence on divine enablement.

Embrace Patient Expectancy

Simeon and Anna waited. They prayed. They watched. Their walk was marked by patience, not passivity. “My eyes have seen your salvation” (Luke 2:30, ESV), Simeon said. To walk with God is to walk in hope—trusting that promises will be fulfilled, that the Christ child will be held, even if only for a moment. This expectant waiting is itself a form of worship, a declaration that God’s timing is perfect.

The Quiet Benediction

In the end, the commendation we seek is not from men, but from God. Not applause, but affirmation. Not legacy, but faithfulness. Simeon didn’t build an ark, slay a giant, or preach to thousands. He waited. He listened. He held the promise in his arms and said, “My eyes have seen your salvation” (Luke 2:30, ESV).

To walk with God is to live in such a way that, when the promise arrives—whether in a cradle or a cloud—we recognize it. And we are ready to depart in peace, knowing our walk has been faithful, our hearts have been whole, and our lives have been marked by the same divine commendations that echo through Scripture from generation to generation.

The invitation remains: to be tamîm, yāšār, to halak ʿim ʾĕlōhîm, to be plērēs pneumatos. To walk the called life, one faithful step at a time.