Micah: Justice + MercyParaugs

Life's Lesson

By Pastor Dan Hickling

“Therefore I will also make you sick by striking you, by making you desolate because of your sins. You shall eat, but not be satisfied; hunger shall be in your midst. You may carry some away, but shall not save them; and what you do rescue I will give over to the sword.” Micah 6:13–14 (NKJV)

Have you ever felt like you just weren’t getting anywhere no matter how hard you tried? You pushed, you strained, you exhausted every drop of effort within you to accomplish an objective but were still unable to achieve it. 

All the while your mind replayed the mantra you heard countless times in your childhood by well-meaning grown-ups, “You can do anything you put your mind to if you just try hard enough.” You’d think those who’ve experienced more life would have a more accurate assessment of reality because that’s just not how the world works!

Now, it probably came from a good place intended to spur you on in your life’s ambitions; to fuel you on your trajectory to achieve and accomplish, and there’s nothing wrong with wanting to do that. However, it needs to be counter-balanced with the reality that God’s will is what ultimately matters in life, not our determination or ambition to fulfill ours. If He’s determined something will happen, regardless of any efforts to the contrary, then quite simply, we cannot undo what God is doing!

That’s the lesson the people of Israel and Judah were about to learn as prophesied by Micah here. The Lord pronounces no matter how hard they try to continue in their sin and live a satisfied life, He was going to shut things down for them. Catch the warning: “You shall sow, but not reap; you shall tread the olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil; and make sweet wine, but not drink wine. For the statutes of Omri are kept; all the works of Ahab’s house are done; and you walk in their counsels, that I may make you a desolation, and your inhabitants a hissing. Therefore you shall bear the reproach of My people” (Micah 6:15–16 NKJV).

It may not be obvious on the surface, but this also describes a lot of us a lot of the time. We try to live life on our own terms, but we come short because there’s a deeper issue of sin God is going to get to the bottom of. We eat but aren’t satisfied; we sow but don’t reap the benefits; we spin our proverbial wheels all because the Lord is doing something we cannot undo in us. The sooner we surrender to that truth, the sooner we enter into the freedom found in His will instead of our own.

If you feel like you’re pursuing something with all you’ve got but getting nowhere, stop and take stock. Could it be you’re trying to undo what God is doing? If so, you know how that will end; it won’t end until you surrender to whatever He may be calling you to lay down. For Micah’s audience, it was their unjust oppression of those who were vulnerable. What might it be in your case? 

Pause: What lesson was Micah’s audience about to learn? 

Practice: Consider how you should react to this.

Pray: Father, help me to take stock of my life and show me any area where I may be trying to undo what You’re doing. Help me submit to Your will. Amen.