Devotionals from my Bible app: What does God want? (Micah 6:8)

Note before sharing the devotional: as an American Republican conservative, I'm not a fan of how liberals (Christians and non-Christians alike) have tended to overuse Micah 6:8. My understanding is that it has often been used to continually shame white people regarding our ancestors' treatment of blacks, especially during the period of slavery, and again during the Jim Crow era. However, this verse is still in the Bible and it records something that God told Micah regarding Israel at that time that still can and does apply to us, particularly during our own stumbles and falls.

Although the list of things I disagree with American Democratic liberals is far longer, over the last couple years I've found (and re-found) some things I disagree with other conservatives about. This list is far shorter and may even be fewer than the number of fingers on one hand. But it happens to contain core values that I believe have always been with me, long before I was even aware of the significance of what choosing a political side was. By the way, that choice was for the liberal side, when I was 18; I've undergone many, many permutations since then. The main area of disagreement with other conservatives concerns psychology, and after almost three years of living with housemates with not only their views on psychology as they are, but also behaviors that betray even their own standards, I've come to appreciate some of the experiences I had with liberals that once baffled me even then. Even though my love is also a fellow conservative, her story (both everything I've witnessed as well as everything I've heard) is a testament to me, and perhaps a key detail, albeit one seemingly insignificant to others, that God may have used to not only set us up but join us together.

Now with all the political commentary out of the way, I will share that I've been praying for a simpler message around the Gospel and around God's heart to focus on. While it's good and important to focus on developing one's faith to a point of radical faith (the God we serve is capable of radical things!) and to pursue holiness, sometimes we can get lost in the weeds of focusing on all these different important practices but lose the heart of what matters. Yes, it's important to behave right, and to think right, and to have the right faith, and to not lose one's cool, and to always do the right thing, etc. (After all, in 2019 I prayed to get spiritual formation, realizing that at that point I had never really had it - the last 4 years have been one big answer to prayer for that! Praise God.)

But after this past week (see yesterday's introduction), and really, after the past three years, I found myself praying for something simpler to be able to focus on. Just what does God want? When we pull away the politicism that has unfortunately been associated with Micah 6:8, we do see His simple instructions for obedience. The context for this verse is shown in the first two verses of the chapter, where God did indeed have a complaint against His people:

Hear now what the Lord says: “Arise, plead your case before the mountains, And let the hills hear your voice. Hear, O you mountains, the Lord’s complaint, And you strong foundations of the earth; For the Lord has a complaint against His people, And He will contend with Israel. Micah 6:1-2, NKJV

After He lists the grievous sins that He has against His people, He then gets to what He wants them to do:

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? Micah 6:8, NKJV

What does God want?

“What is God’s will for my life?”
“What is my purpose and calling?”
“What can I do to please God?”

In the New Testament, Jesus provides the answer to those questions by telling His followers to love God and love people. In the Old Testament, the prophet Micah—empowered by the Holy Spirit—summarized God’s will for Israel by saying:

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
Micah 6:8 ESV

These words were penned during a time when God’s people were trying to please Him with sacrifices, offerings, and going through religious motions, while living lives of deception, violence, and pride. But as the prophet Hosea writes, “I [God] desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.” (Hosea 6:6 NIV)

God is after our heart motives, not our outward religious activity or begrudging obedience.

Let’s break down what God desires of us:

- Do justice. Doing justice requires faith and actions working together: helping the hurting, defending the weak, dealing fairly with the people we encounter, and speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves. In other words, to do justice, we must love others as we love ourselves.

- Love kindness. The mercy of God is an extreme kindness. And because we’ve been shown undeserved kindness by Him, we can show undeserved kindness to others. God desires these things more than endless “I’m sorry” speeches. God is kind to the grateful and the wicked (Luke 6:35), so we should be, too.

- Walk humbly. Be teachable. Be moldable. Remember: You’re not God. You have limitations. You need a Creator and Savior. You’re only here because God spoke you into existence. So confidently embrace who you are, and who you are not, because it’s when we live fully surrendered to God that He does incredible things through us.

Seeking justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly—that is what God wants from us. So in a world that’s saturated with injustice, hatred, and arrogance, let’s be people marked by these three things.

https://bible.com/bible/59/mic.6.8.ESV