Strengthen Day 8 - Sunday - March 6, 2022
He has told you, mortal one, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8
We all want the experience of hearing God speak to us. We can pray fervently to hear that still small voice. Sometimes we wait for that stirring in our hearts. Sometimes we wish God would just text us with what job we should have, who we should marry, or give us some great calling.
God does move in those ways, but God has already told us what He wants us to do. Sometimes we just don’t want to hear it. Micah is prophesying to the nation of Israel. Prior to this verse, the question asked is: what worshipful acts (sacrifices) does God desire? The prophet responds that the Lord requires us to, “do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with God.” However, the people were not willing to listen.
We can also say that we have been told what is good and what the Lord requires from us. God reveals exactly what He wants from us through His Word. We automatically think of the great Commission: “Go and make disciples of all nations.” We quickly can quote the greatest commandment “Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself..” Yet, sometimes it is really hard to hear what God is saying with these things.
Jesus expands “Loving your neighbor” to “Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). Not many of us have true enemies, but we are called to love the annoying co-worker, the neighbor whose dog barks at 5:00 AM, and members of the opposite political party in our own church. Love in the biblical sense is not some emotional feeling but actively seeking the good of the other.
Within the church we are to live in love with each other even if that means setting aside my own preferences and freedoms. Paul writes “All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor” (I Corinthians 10:23-24). This is a theme in Paul’s letters (Romans 14, 1 Corinthians 8) about the willingness to set aside our freedoms for the support and edification of others who may be in a different place in their spiritual journey. “For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died” (Romans 14:15). Are we willing to hear that?
As we wait to hear God speak into a specific situation, let us not ignore what He has already told us to do all the time.
Reflection: What in God’s Word is it hard for you to hear and obey? How can you put aside personal feelings and seek the good of others?