Have you ever asked the question - What is my purpose? What am I supposed to be doing with my life? I have. I have quite recently in fact. What are we supposed to be doing here in this great wide world? What or how, as followers of Christ, are supposed to be doing?
I saw this verse recently when I was scrolling through Facebook - thank you mother - and I stopped. Of course - the whole verse wasn’t there - but the words - Justice, Mercy, Humility, Micah 6:8. Color me intrigued. So I grabbed my bible - ironically right beside me - and opened it up.
Micah 6:8 -
"He has shown you, o man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?"
I just kind of sat there for a minute just rereading the same verse. It was my answer. He has shown you what is good…How often do we have to stop and think - is this something that I should be doing? Is this was is considered good? I going to tell you - we have the instructions - right there in the bible. Exodus 20:12-17 tells us how to do good to our fellow man. Exodus 20:2-11 tells us how to do good to God. The question is not what is good - the question is are you willing to do good?
But is just doing good, good enough? The answer is no. Deuteronomy takes it farther still...
Deuteronomy 10:12-13 -
"And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good?"
It is good to do good. Here the Bible is saying that not only are we to do good - but that by doing good - we are doing good to ourselves as well! To live according to the commands and statues are for our own good. But beyond that - doing good does not just consist of the action - our thoughts and hearts have to be behind the action. If not, it is just a vain response to the injustice in the world. That verse in Micah tells us that we are to do justly; but we are also to love mercy.
The general definition of justice is - giving each person what he or she deserves - and trust me - that may not always be a good thing. But we are also to love mercy. According to Google - mercy is the compassionate treatment of those in distress, especially when it is within one's power to punish or harm them - to meet out justice. So like God - we are to deal out justice but mingled with mercy.
Hosea 6:6 -
"For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings."
Jesus quotes this verse in Matthew 9 when speaking to the church leaders when confronting them on hypocrisy in the church. The laws of God are never to be a burden - He never meant them to be that way. When rightly obeyed - they are a beautiful blueprint for society. A perfect environment - a heavenly government. But so often they are viewed as restrictive and binding. Most believe that these ten 'rules' can never be followed. And they would be right - to an extent. That is where the last part of Micah 6:8 comes in - walk humbly with your God. There is no way that we, in ourselves, can overcome our sinful natures. In ourselves we have no power - but good news - we do not have to conquer our natures alone.
Isaiah 41:10, 14 -
"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Fear not…I will help you, says the Lord and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel."
There are so many places in the bible that states that God is our helper, our keeper, our strength, our fortress, etc. There is no doubt that He is the reason that we are able to over the all the evil that is thrown into our path. If we walk humbly with Him - nothing will be able to overcome us but the blessings from His throne.
So the next time that you find yourself in the discouragement of self-doubt - just remember Micah 6:8 - Justice, Mercy, Humility.