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Micah 6:6 What can we bring to the LORD?
What kind of offerings should we give him?
Should we bow before God
with offerings of yearling calves?
7 Should we offer him thousands of rams
and ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Should we sacrifice our firstborn children
to pay for our sins?
8 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. (NLT)
God has given each of us a life purpose. My current struggle is that I’m not especially happy with the purpose that God has planned for me right now. There, I said it. I’m not perfect. I don’t have it all together. I struggle. I argue with God and tell Him that I think my plan is better, or I want a different choice. Sort of like, “no, I want the red popcicle, not the purple one; or I want a creamcicle instead.”
What is a suitable life? What really does God want from each of us who claim to have given Him back control of the lives that He already owns, and whom He sent His only Son, Jesus, to buy us back from sin and hell? The prophet says here that, in a nutshell, we are to do what is right (seek justice), to love mercy (to look for ways to show kindness and love), and to walk humbly with God (cling to Him, be in relationship with Him through reading — and obeying — His Word, and talking — and listening — to Him in prayer).
God is not impressed with how many people attend a workshop I am teaching, or that the classroom or auditorium is filled with people waiting to listen to me teach. For me, teaching is easy. I can just give a lecture, say some encouraging words, and walk away. Walking humbly with God means numerous one-on-one conversations with a woman struggling with forgiveness after a lifetime of abuse and hurt. Providing short-term housing to a mom and small children who are leaving a physically violent husband. Mentoring young women who want to be godly wives and mothers.
Walking humbly with God means being willing to be where He is — everywhere that He is. Walking humbly with God means being content with the life He has given me, and with the task He has given me to fulfill. Even if that “task” is to be content and satisfied and joyful in God despite constant pain and exhaustion.
God, in this season of my life, has ordained that my “suitable life” be one of prayer, of writing, of studying, and of encouraging and mentoring others. It’s not so much an active, “doing” life; it’s more of a “being” life, a life of relationship more than activity; of silence more than noise; of quiet conversation more than large-group lecture. Writing this is helping me see that my life truly is full and meaningful. It’s different from what it was 10 years ago, but I’m different from who I was 10 years ago. My life is full and meaningful because I have God, and He is my treasure; He is my joy; He gives my life meaning.
1 John 3:19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. (ESV)
Assurance and security; those are words that convey importance to me. Those are words that influence so many decisions in my life — financial, residential, employment. At the risk of overstating, even my shopping decisions are colored by assurance and security. At our house, the only jar of mayonnaise you will find in the refrigerator is Best Foods; the only cream cheese is Philly. I want to know that what I get is “worth it.”
So, what does this have to do with anything? Well, spiritually, when things are dry, when health is trying, when finances are “iffy,” job security “isn’t,” where is my assurance? Where is my security?
My security must be in God, and He has revealed Himself through His Word, the Bible. Don’t you love it that He knows us so well, that He even addresses directly what to do when our feelings don’t match up to the truth? When my heart condemns me — tells me I’m not worth it, circumstances aren’t worth it — God is greater than my heart. I’m going to repeat that: God is greater than my heart. When my feelings don’t match the truth of God’s Word, I choose to believe His Word.
“. . .because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.
Here’s the key to the “how to” of fighting feelings with truth. I must cling to Christ; I must submit to Christ; I must give my will to Christ. I must place all my “assurance and security” in Christ.
I’ve been spending more time reading the writings of the Puritan-age preachers. What faith, what singularity of focus! Here’s a quote that I’ve been chewing on for the past couple of days. . .
“I suppose many do not understand themselves, when they say they want assurance; for what better assurance would you have than the word of God? If you have his word, and take his word, you need no better assurance. (Ralph Erskine 1685 – 1752)
“You keep him in perfect peace him whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.” (Isaiah 26:3-4 ESV)
Peace.
Trust.
What we long for. What we search for. Fix your mind, your thoughts, your emotions on Christ. Believe Him. Read His Word and choose to believe it, even when the running dialog in your head speaks differently.
Believe Christ.
Trust Christ.
Know Christ.
“When Christ is my hope, he becomes the one thing in which I have confidence. I act on his wisdom and bank on his grace. I trust his promises and I rely on his presence. And I pursue all the good things that he has promised me simply because I trust him. So, I am not manipulating, controlling, or threatening my way through life to get what I want, because I have found what I want in Christ. He is my hope.”
- Paul David Tripp, A Quest for More (Greensboro, NC; New Growth Press, 2007), 107.
