In my quiet time I try to read or listen to God’s word daily. Over the years I’ve learned that while everything I read or hear during this time may not seem to stick it actually does, and God is faithful to use His Word in my life at just the right times. Lately that has been true with a verse I read several weeks ago in Micah 6:8 where Micah asks the question “what does the LORD require of you?” It’s a question that continues to penetrate my thinking, what does the Lord require of me?
If we continue to read that passage Micah goes on to answer that question, “To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” How simple and yet how profoundly difficult to do. So often I find myself acting exactly the opposite. Knowing this I’ve spent the past few weeks seeking His guidance in how to go about answering and doing His command. What does God require of me and how can I do it? Here are a few things He’s shown me that may also speak to you as you the face the challenges in living a life most pleasing to God.
First, I’ve learned from Malachi 3:6 that God does not change, He is the same yesterday, today and forever. What He expected from Micah and the people of Israel He also expects from us today. I cannot use the excuse that we live in different times with a heavier work load and all sorts of life’s pressures that Old Testament people did not experience, and from Nahum 1:7 I learned that “The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.”
Second, I’ve learned the value in waiting patiently. For me when times are challenging, when the path forward is uncertain, seeking God’s will requires patience. James really speaks to me when he says that “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”
Third, I’ve learned that God does not expect me to know and do His will without His help, but He wants us to take the first step by asking Him. In Matthew 7:7-8 God tells us to "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” If I am to know and do God’s will I must first seek Him out and He will be faithful, if I have the patience, God will answer, He will reveal His will and He will equip me for the challenges at hand.
Fourth, I need a humble and contrite heart and a desire to please only Him. Psalm 19:14 must be my sincere prayer if I am to do what the Lord requires of me. In it the Psalmist prays “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.”
And finally, and perhaps of the utmost importance, is Christ’s command to us in Matthew 6:33. Jesus tells us in that verse that our first priority is to seek His Kingdom and His righteousness. As each of us faces the challenges of the day may we have the patience to wait on Him. If our hearts are servants hearts, if our spirits are teachable spirits and if we sincerely want to do whatever it is the Lord requires of each of us, He will be faithful to reveal His will to us and to work out His purpose in our lives.
May of all us be found faithful in seeking and doing what the Lord requires of each us.
In Christ
Wes