“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)
The prophet Micah asks: “With what shall I come before the Lord … Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings … with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for … the sin of my soul?” (vv. 6-7). Do you feel like you can never be good enough to please God? Does religion look to you like a set of impossible, guilt-inducing demands designed to appease a distant deity who takes delight in making us squirm? Thank God for Micah, who comes along and dispels that notion by telling us, “He has showed you, O man, what is good” (v. 8).
Because you’ve been redeemed and filled with God’s Spirit, you can:
- “Do right” even when nobody else is. Why? In order to maintain your confidence before God! (see 1 John 3:21-22). Nothing in your life is more important than that.
- “Love mercy.” Remember the old Nancy Sinatra hit song, “These boots were made for walkin’, and that’s just what they’ll do. One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you?” Jesus went through life lifting people up, not walking all over them. And His Word to you today is: “Go, and do thou likewise” (Luke 10:37).
- “Walk humbly with your God.” When God promotes you, your greatest challenge will be to make sure He gets all the glory. Every good thing you have today is a gift from Him; try to remember that!
So the word for you today is: “Do right … love mercy … walk humbly.”
Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me do right, love mercy, and walk humbly before You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Stay encouraged!
Pastor Mike
