What Does God Want From You?

“No, O people, the Lord has told you 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.” ­– Micah 6:8 NLT

It’s really pretty simple. God’s will for you and me is not some complex, hard to figure out, mysterious thing. It is not a riddle to solve or quest to pursue. It does not involve sacrifices, rituals, or religious observances to ascertain. God’s will, what He wants from us is fairly basic. He states it right here in this message from the prophet Micah. And it consists of three things: To do what is right. To love mercy. And to walk humbly with Him.

Right in the middle of all the prophesies of coming judgment and future restoration, God delivers a message to His people stating His expectations or desires concerning their behavior. He has listed all their sins. He has warned of coming punishment. Then He tells them what He wants from them. And it is really fairly simple. First, He wants them to do what is right – to live together justly or righteously. What does that mean? Well, take a look at how they WERE living. God accuses them of dishonesty in their business dealings, of greed and avarice that caused them to cheat one another, of corruption and graft, extortion, violence, lying and a long list of other unjust behaviors. They were daily violating a good portion of the Ten Commandments. Do not lie, do not cheat, do not steal, do not covet, do not bear false witness, etc. God wanted them to do what is right in relationship with one another. He wanted them to live in harmony and peace, to treat one another with dignity and respect. But they were doing just the opposite.

Then God tells them He wants them to love mercy. That word “mercy” has to do with a certain kind of zeal or love shown to another person that shows up in kindness, goodness, and faithfulness. God wanted them to be zealous for mercy. They loved to receive it, but weren’t so good at extending it. God wanted to see His people zealous for and excited about showing mercy to one another. But again, they were doing just the opposite. They were taking advantage of one another. They were abusing one another. There was no mercy being extended or shown.

Finally, God tells them that He wants them to walk humbly before Him. He wants them to live their daily lives with a sense of humility and lowliness. He wants them to eliminate their pride and replace it with an understanding of who they are in comparison to Him. They are nothing without Him. They are weak and He is strong. They are only His people because He chose to make them so. They bring no value to the table. There is nothing inherently special about them. So as they live their lives, they are to constantly remember that all they have is the result of God, not themselves. Their wealth, treasures, talents, and resources are all the result of a kind, generous, loving God. To walk humbly before Him is to live with a sense of dependence and awareness of your need. It is a life of submission to His will. But instead, they had become arrogant, boastful, prideful, self-sufficient and self-willed. They did what was right in their own eyes. They walked before God with a sense of self-confidence. They did the things they did to one another with a degree of pride and arrogance, as if God would not do anything about it.

God’s desires for us are highly practical, not religious and ethereal. He wants us to treat one another fairly and justly. He wants us to love showing mercy to others – especially those in need, the helpless, hopeless, and oppressed. And He wants us to live our lives with a sense of humility – unimpressed with ourselves, our accomplishments, or our possessions. This is our calling. This is who God has called each of us as Christ-followers to be. This is how He desires for each of us to live our lives. Doing the right thing, extending mercy, and living with humility. What a difference our lives would make in this world if we did what God desired for us to do. And He has made it possible for us to pull it off because He has placed His Spirit within us. He has given us His Word to direct us. And He gave His Son as a living example of what that kind of life looks like. To live like Christ is to live out these three things as He did. Take a look at His life. Examine how He did what was right, showed mercy, and lived humbly. That is what He is calling us to do. It is practical, everyday stuff. But it is potentially life-changing and world-impacting.

Father, like the Israelites, many of us are too busy doing just the opposite of what You want. We have lost sight of the goal. We are ignoring Your will for our lives. Bring us back to the basics. Give us a desire to do what is right, to love mercy and to walk humbly before You. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

But That’s Not The Kind of God I Worship!

“‘Don’t say such things,’ the people respond. ‘Don’t prophesy like that. Such disasters will never come our way!'” ­– Micah 2:6 NLT

Too many today have a one-dimensional view of God. They want to see Him as loving and kind, gracious and forgiving. He is like the kindly old grandfather who excuses all the faults of his grandchildren and doles out gifts and words of exhortation. This perspective has caused many t0 reject the God of the Old Testament because He comes across as angry, violent, vindictive, judgmental, harsh, demanding, and somewhat bloodthirsty. They have a hard time reconciling the God pictured in the Old Testament with the kind, gracious and merciful God of the New Testament who sent His own Son to die on the cross as payment for the sins of all mankind. The Old Testament is full of prophesies of doom and gloom, while the New Testament is all about the Good News.

Yet in the book of Micah you find these two aspects of God’s personality revealed side by side. You clearly see the God of judgment, warning His people of the punishment He is about to bring on them for their sin and rebellion. “Look! The Lord is coming! He leaves His throne in heaven and tramples the heights of the earth” (Micah 1:3 NLT). He was coming to judge and to punish. Why? “Because of the rebellion of Israel – yes, the sins of the whole nation” (Micah 1:5 NLT). Then Micah spends seven chapters listing out their various sins: Fraud (2:2), theft (2:8), greed (2:9), debauchery (2:11), oppression (3:3), hypocrisy (3:4), heresy (3:5), injustice (3:9), extortion and lying (6:12), and murder (7:2). Just to name a few!

And just like today, the people of God didn’t want to hear what Micah had to say. At least not the negative part. “‘Don’t say such things,’ the people respond. ‘Don’t prophesy like that. Such disasters will never come our way!'” (Micah 2:6 NLT). They were God’s chosen people. Their God loved them. He would never let anything like that happen to them. But Micah warns them, “Should you talk that way, O family of Israel? Will the Lord’s Spirit have patience with such behavior?” (Micah 2:7 NLT). These people only wanted to hear good news. They wanted their prophets and preachers to give them messages that were easy on the ears and less convicting to their spirits. Micah sarcastically accuses them: “Suppose a prophet full of lies would say to you, ‘I’ll preach to you the joys of wine and alcohol!’ That’s just the kind of prophet you would like!” (Micah 2:11 NLT). In other words, they would love to be told that their sinful actions and attitudes were perfectly fine, that God was pleased with them, that they didn’t need to change.

But God was not pleased. He was angry and had run out of patience. His holiness demanded that He mete out justice. He must do the right thing. He cannot leave sin unpunished. He cannot simply overlook it. So judgment was non-optional. But at the same time, Micah gives us a glimpse of the love and mercy of God at the very same time He is warning about the coming wrath and judgment of God. He reminds them of God’s promise. “Someday, O Israel, I will gather you; I will gather the remnant who are left. I will bring you together again like sheep in a pen, like a flock in its pasture” (Micah 2:12 NLT). He tells them, “Your King will lead you; the Lord himself will guide you” (Micah 2:13b). God is both just and loving. He is holy and merciful. He is consistent in every way. Part of our problem is that we do not fully understand the nature of God. We gravitate to the more kind and loving version we find in the New Testament. But in doing so, we create a version of God that is incomplete and imperfect. Micah tries to show a comprehensive and complete image of God. Without His wrath, His love loses its power. Without His justice looming over us, demanding that right be done and sin be punished, His grace becomes cheap and disposable. We wrestle with some of the aspects of God’s character because they seem harsh and contradictory. But Micah reminds us, “…they do not know the Lord’s thoughts or understand his plan” (Micah 4:12 NLT). His punishment seems harsh and hard to understand. But if we only focus there we fail to understand that His punishment is coupled with mercy. He not only rebukes, He restores and redeems. He punishes, but then He prospers. He disciplines out of love. He rebukes because He has to. He redeems because He wants to. That is the kind of God I worship. He is not fickle, weak-willed, easy on sin, or harsh without a reason. God has a reason for everything He does – including bring punishment and blessing. Because He has a plan and a purpose behind it all.

Father, help us to grow in our understanding of you. Keep us from viewing You one-dimensionally and trying to paint a portrait of You that fits what we want from a god. May we grow to appreciate the fulness of Your character and understand more fully the richness of Your grace and mercy. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org