Written ~ 09-27-2023
Micah 6:8
“No, O people, the Lord has told what is good, and this is what He requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”
My hope is that I will reflect on the decisions I have made throughout the day and find that the choices I have made are good and right in the eyes of the Lord. I know I make mistakes; it’s going to happen. But what if I recognize the errors sooner; ask for forgiveness from my Father in Heaven, then maybe the next time I’m struggling with an attitude or an action I’ll do the right thing immediately, not wait for the day to go by before checking my responses.
“…and this is what He requires of you… to do what is right…”
I know my desire is to always do the right thing, to follow through with a Godly response and, well, the more I stay in God’s Word the quicker my response is a godly one. If I follow through with a godly response to my decisions and seek God’s wisdom first, I won’t get into as much trouble by trying to do things my way.
“…and this is what He requires of you… to love mercy…”
Having compassion for other people should always be my first response when seeing someone in need. What if my immediate response was to show someone mercy instead of turning a “blind eye” to them and going about my business? Not only would responding with compassion and mercy help I feel better, but the other person would be blessed as well. Some days I must admit that I put on the “I can’t be bothered face.” Does anyone else do this? I know it’s not right; I shouldn’t be in such a hurry that I don’t show the love of Christ to everyone I come across. At times, it is something I definitely need to work on… Am I showing preferential treatment to those I know? Ignoring those I don’t? I do not think the Lord would have me pick and choose who I show compassion and mercy to, it needs to be an automatic response to everyone I encounter. I need the Lord’s help and the nudging of the Holy Spirit to keep me out of a “can’t be bothered” mood.
“…and this is what He requires of you… to walk humbly with your God…”
To humble myself before God means I need to know His authority over my life. It means I walk with Him, beside Him, let Him guide me through every situation. It does not mean I can walk in front of Him because I think my ways are better than the Lord’s. No, He needs to MY guide, not the other way around. How could I ever show arrogance towards my Father in Heaven! Where would my heart, mind and soul need to be if I am not able to humble myself before my God! Believe me, I really don’t want to find out. If I ever decide that my decisions are better off coming from my own thoughts, or from my own feelings and I am creating arrogance within myself, I pray that I would turn back to my Lord and Savior quickly, get back on track, humbling myself before my Father in Heaven should be my upmost priority.
Father God, my heartfelt prayer is that You would guide my heart, help me do what is right, to show mercy and compassion to others, and to always humble myself before You. Help me walk with Your guidance, continue to change my heart, my mind, my entire being to do only those things that please You.
~AMEN~