Watching, Waiting, and Being Heard

Therefore, I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. Micah 7:7 (King James Version)

My actions follow decisions I make in my mind. It is interesting how many phrases are found in scripture that begin with "I will." I will bless the Lord at all times. I will lift up mine eyes to the hills. To name just a couple.

In Micah 7:7 I see two "I wills" and one "God will." Micah had a predetermined plan for when the difficulties of life arose. Problems are inevitable in this life. We cannot escape pain, suffering, loss, or disappointment. Sorrows cannot always be avoided but we can choose ahead of time what our course of action and attitude will be when the storms of life do come crashing in on us.

First, we can look to God. Watch expectantly as the New American Standard Bible says. Look to Him for direction, provision, protection, security, encouragement, counsel, empowerment, intervention, and rest. He can give us the pioneer spirit to continue on in the adventures and valleys of life.

Then we can wait on Him. Scripture says, "They that wait on the Lord, shall renew their strength." The children of Israel fastened their eyes on the pillar of fire by night and pillar of cloud by day. They waited for movement in the sky before moving forward on the earth. Waiting on God is not wasted time or blind faith. It is wisely aligning myself with God's timetable and plan. The waiting time is productive when spent drawing close to Him, recounting His faithfulness in the past, praying without ceasing, and standing on the truths learned so far. As I wait on God I can rest assured He is either preparing me or preparing others for what lies ahead.

The most assuring words in this verse are the promise that my God will hear me. He not only hears my words but He understands my thoughts and motives as well. I find that His desire is for me to be honest with Him. Fears, doubts, discouragement, and confusion always super-size themselves when buried in the deep places of my heart. They tend to dissipate as I voice them out loud to God either verbally or in written form.

Waiting does not mean inactivity. It simply means to continue at the task at hand until He opens the way for movement forward. That is why I am so encouraged by my Bible ancestors and the precious examples they left for me to follow.

Father, how comforting to know that my words to You never fall on deaf hears, inattention, bored looks, or sighs of exasperation. Amen.

Receptive to Teaching

And He will teach us His ways, and we will walk in His paths. Micah 4:2 (King James Version)

In order for someone to teach me something I must be receptive and desirous to learn. I have been a student in many classrooms where that was not the case. The reason? The subject matter was not put on a level that I could understand, my mind was on other things, I was physically exhausted, the information given was not important to me at the time, my interest was not peaked, too many distractions, etc...

But I found that if I really liked the teacher I was drawn to the lesson being taught. My thoughts of and relationship to the teacher were the catalyst for my actual learning. What they were saying became important to me.

Likewise I have sat under many speakers. If I failed to connect with them I became bored and distracted. I am sure that what they had to say was useful but I was unreceptive. On the other hand, if I connected with them, I hung on every word, drank in their wisdom, and desired to apply the truth of their message to my life.

My Father desires to teach me His ways so that I am able to walk in His paths. Does He have my attention? Am I hungry to learn all I can from Him? Do I see the importance of what He is teaching me? Is my focus on him?

I am assured that He'll put the lessons on a level I can grasp. He allocates time for me to digest what he is saying. Sometimes it is one on one instruction through His Word and prayer. Other times He uses individuals, songs, books, or situations. I use to think if the lesson came through a chosen source of His, I wasn't really receiving it from Him. I equated spiritual maturity as being attained when God was my ONLY source for instruction. But the Bible speaks of the wisdom found in many counselors. So whether I learn something new about God or the Christian life through God's sources or through God Himself, I can now see that it is still from Him.

Father, may you be my ultimate Teacher! May I always be attentive, receptive, and eager to learn from You…..no matter the route through which You choose to teach me. Amen.

Seeing a Clearer Picture

Be in pain, and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in birth pangs. For now you shall go forth from the city, you shall dwell in the field, and to Babylon you shall go. There you shall be delivered; there the LORD will redeem you from the hand of your enemies. Micah 4:10 (New King James Version)

Have you ever wondered what it is the Lord is doing in your life? On a daily basis you feel as if you are sitting among countless puzzle pieces and the semblance of a picture is no where to be found. Days blend into weeks and even months, and you still perceive nothing! Faith says, “God knows what He is doing!” while the flesh says, “This doesn’t make sense!” Can anyone relate to this?

When my eyes landed on this verse this morning I began to see a clearer picture of what has been happening over time. As one year gives way to another year I am looking back and seeing phrases within this verse coming to life for me. I have absolutely no doubt God is presently birthing something in me….I have experienced the labor pains!!!! Maybe you have as well.

When I think of God calling His people out of the city and into the field, I picture the leaving of comfort zones and places of presumed security. To say it is unsettling is an understatement. I will admit that the first year of my journey was filled with many fearful moments as I was letting go of so many things I had held to for decades. But I knew I would be okay because my heart’s desire was to know God more intimately and walk in freedom! I just had to get past the idea that what people thought equated what God thought. Once I began to experience God and the Christian life in a whole new way, I was thrilled! This was followed by another season. That of pain and sorrow at a significant loss in my life. Tears marked the path on which I had formerly danced! But again, I knew I would be okay because I now knew God in a way that allowed me to lean upon Him like never before. This became my season for seeing areas in which I needed deliverance.

God has wasted no time in showing me how deeply the areas of bondage run in me and along with that, His incredible power and ability to set me free! As I enter a new year, I am entering it as a changed person in many respects. Compared to a year ago, I don’t think the same way I use to think. I don’t relate to people the way I use to relate. I don’t view God the way I use to view God. I don’t know what this new year will be like but I know that over all of it will hang God’s promise to deliver and redeem me from all my enemies. Even that with which I presently struggle will give way to His hand of redemption! Because of that, I walk with a confidence and security that has me dancing once again!

Father, I no longer wonder how You will accomplish Your purposes in me! I simply know that You will! Amen.

Proactive and Passionate About It

He will turn again, He will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities, and Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:19

God's proactive response to our sin is so amazing. The story of the prodigal son when he returns home is a picture of us each time we return to God. The father pictures the heart of God so well. He has been waiting for the son, runs to meet him, enfolds him with arms of compassion, and lavishes goodness on him. I see that scene magnified in the first part of Micah 7:19. We have a heavenly Father who always turns again and has compassion on us. It is in His heart to respond and demonstrate such love.

Too often, on a human scale, I fail to give or receive such a response to offenses, hurts, and injustices. May His Spirit transform me into a person with a heart for forgiveness like His.
But the second part of the verse displays God's proaction toward our actual sin. The KJV says he "subdues" our iniquities (wickedness). I often think of subdue to mean bring under control or to over take something. But it also means to tread down, to conquer. God's love for me is directly opposite of His hatred for sin. He stomps all over it and then casts it into the sea. The depths of the sea....the deepest part. Like a ball hit out of the field, sin is "out of here"....GONE!!!!

He separates my sin from me. While I receive His loving embrace, my sin gets the boot. For years I thought God could only see me through the grid of my sin, failure, and depravity. This verse is one way He is fixing my picture of Him.

Father, You are so much more loving than I ever hoped You could be! May I never get over Your compassion, mercy, and love! Amen.

A Pro Active God

He will turn again, He will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities, and Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:19

God's pro active response to our sin is so amazing. The story of the prodigal son when he returns home is a picture of us each time we return to God. The father pictures the heart of God so well. He has been waiting for the son, runs to meet him, enfolds him with arms of compassion, and lavishes goodness on him. I see that scene magnified in the first part of Micah &:19. We have a heavenly Father who always turns again and has compassion on us. It is in His heart to respond and demonstrate such love.

Too often, on a human scale, I fail to give or receive such a response to offenses, hurts, and injustices. May His Spirit transform me into a person with a heart for forgiveness like His.
But the second part of the verse displays God's pro action toward our actual sin. The KJV says he "subdues" our iniquities (wickedness). I often think of subdue to mean bring under control or to over take something. But it also means to tread down, to conquer. God's love for me is directly opposite of His hatred for sin. He stomps all over it and then casts it into the sea. The depths of the sea....the deepest part. Like a ball hit out of the field, sin is "out of here"....GONE!!!!

He separates my sin from me. While I receive His loving embrace, my sin gets the boot. For years I thought God could only see me through the grid of my sin, failure, and depravity. This verse is one way He is fixing my picture of Him.

Father, You are so much more loving than I ever hoped You could be! May I never get over Your compassion, mercy, and love! Amen.

What God Delights In

Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in unchanging love. Micah 7:18

I love God's heart! This verse displays four things God does that are abounding with His goodness. He pardons our wickedness, passes over our violations of His law, doesn't remain angry, and actually delights in demonstrating mercy.

I know the things that bring me joy and extreme satisfaction. The things and people I take great pleasure in. Mercy is one thing God delights in. So many people look at God as One who derives pleasure in punishing them. To them, He is a harsh task master who wants nothing more than to take enjoyment for life away from them. The almighty kill joy. That was my view of Him for decades.

But THAT is not the God of the Bible. His arms are not folded ~ they are open wide as He invites us to reconcile with Himself. There is joy in heaven when repentance takes place on earth. When Adam and Eve sinned, God came to them. when David sinned, God confronted him. God's great delight in David was the fact that he too longed for reconciliation. If I can fully grasp His desire to extend me mercy and the delight that is His when He does so, I am more inclined to come to Him with my sin.

So I must ask myself if I also delight in mercy. Not only receiving God's mercy but extending it to others. As his child I am to mirror His heart of compassion to others. When someone comes to me for reconciliation do they sense in me a delight to show mercy? Or do I hold on to bitterness, enjoy watching them squirm, and let them walk in shame for what they've done?

May I allow God to change me in such a way that mercy becomes my delight as well. Today I will come face to face with the actions of others that offend me, hurt me, and just plain tick me off! Each will be an opportunity to not only extend mercy but delight in it as well.

Father, You have delighted in showing me mercy innumerable times. May I now reflect Your heart of mercy toward others. Amen.

My Lift and My Light

Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise, when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me. Micah 7:8

Some of the most difficult moments in our lives are when we experience despair, depression, and discouragement. The sense of hopelessness can be overwhelming at times. We have all been there ~ some more than others. Loss of a job, death of a loved one, a crisis of some sort. Unless we remember that God holds our very life in the palms of His hands we can begin to believe that people and circumstances direct and define us.

Micah shows me two lights at the end of the tunnels of life. I see proclamations and promises in both. "When I fall, I shall arise." Someone once said every valley is situated between two mountains. While there are things to be learned in the valleys of life, God's purpose and intent is never to leave me there. It is an opportunity to know God's heart better and to develop in me some Christ-like qualities. But I shall arise every time! Resurrections are common occurrences in a believer's life. Those things that seem to be put to death will some day be brought back to life in a richer way. Nature itself shows me this as a seed dies to bring forth a plant. With each discouragement and disappointment I too can voice the words, "I shall rise."

Each of us also knows times of darkness in our life. Times when we feel like our very soul is being placed in the blackness of a cave. How reassuring to know the Lord will be a light to us! Light can do a number of things. It dispels darkness, reflects off certain objects, reveals things that could not be seen in the dark, illuminates paths, and even brings warmth. My mom once told me to keep a candle in my car. If I somehow lost power the candle would give off enough light and heat to sustain me for a period of time. It is amazing to thing of the effect a small light has in a dark cave.

Father, how precious to know that You not only pick me up when I have fallen, but You are my light in the dark moments and places of my life. Amen.

Deliverance

There shalt thou be delivered; there the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of the enemies. Micah 4:10

I use to not like the wildernesses of my Christian life. Spiritual highs were what I lived for and spiritual lows were avoided as much as possible. I did not know their purpose, what to do during the "dry" season, or what God could accomplish through them. So instead of reaping the richness of the moments I looked for the quickest way to exit!

Now that I am further along on my journey I can see a pattern. In Micah 4:10 God brings Israel out of the city. He often brings me out of my comfort zones and places of security. He lead them to a field. He brings me into my own spiritual wilderness. A place that feels dry and uncomfortable. But then deliverance comes!

I have enemies He desires to set me free from. Israel had other nations as their enemies. I have Satan, the flesh, and the world. Satan seeks to destroy me, my flesh longs to control me, and the world wants to influence me. Anything or anyone that leads me away from God and His purposes must be looked upon as an enemy to my walk with God.

God wants me to live in bondage to no person, habit, attitude, or idol. His desire is that I walk in victory and freedom. I must ask Him to reveal to me the places where I am not yet doing that. The areas that seem to have such a strong hold on me that I despair of ever being delivered.
God's words through Micah are for me to claim today and every day. He longs to redeem and deliver me. May I learn to see the truth and cooperate with his work to set me free.

Father, You hold the key to every lock on every chain that binds and confines me. May I allow You to continually set me free. Amen.

Who Am I Imitating?

For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever. Micah 4:5

I find that the people I get to know, spend time with, and highly respect have the biggest influence on my life. Their words begin to live in me as I find myself thinking like them, responding like them, even talking like them. That's called imitation and that's a good thing if who I am imitating is Christlike.

The same is true of following Christ. If I am saturating myself with His Words then it will have an effect on the way I think, act, and speak. He is the ultimate pattern for me to follow.
Sometimes I need a visual example of His character. So He graciously sends people into my life who demonstrate His qualities. When I see tenderness in another person I can more fully understand God's tenderness toward me. When a mentor allows me to be dependent on her for wisdom and guidance I can see Jesus as my personal mentor. When I have blown it and a dear friend embraces me (instead of abandoning me) I can understand more clearly Christ's willingness to forgive me and still love me.

I think of the gods people follow and they cannot compare with my Father. No other god daily demonstrates love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness. Under them there is no realization of being cherished and embraced. I have a personal God who wants me to know him.

Father, may I always chose to walk in Your name. How I thank You for letting me follow You! Amen.

Full of Power

But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin. Micah 3:8

What is the key to owning power through the Spirit of God, and of judgment, and of might? Obedience! In Micah 3, God's judgment for Israel's disobedience was silence and the withdrawal of His presence. God saw the leaders' cruel treatment to His people. Just as Satan seeks whom he may devour, we see the devouring of God's people by the very ones who should have been protecting them, encouraging them, and patterning God to them. James says that teachers will receive the greater judgment. Why? Because they affect the lives of so many people. They can lead with the tenderness of Jesus or the cruelty of Satan.

There are times I feel the presence of God in my life. Just last night He replaced turmoil with peace, confusion with direction, and idolatry with worship of Himself. Like the tide that comes to shore and then returns to the sea, my load gave way to His touch. It took tears and a time of getting out in the open what was living in my heart. God truly does require honesty in the inward parts. It is then that He can come in and heal my spirit and restore to me the joy of my salvation. It is then that I can let go of the very things that have prevented me from taking His hand. Like the peace that follows a storm, God calms me inwardly and at that point surrender becomes my catalyst for receiving what He longs to give to me.

He is a God of exchange. He longs to give me strength for my weakness, forgiveness for my sin, direction for my wandering, joy for my tears, peace for my turmoil.

Father, today I revel in Your presence. Your Spirit as well as the spirit of judgment and power are mine when I yield to Your touch. You have once again engaged my heart and it is a place I long to always abide. Amen.