What the Lord Requires

Scripture:
With what shall I come before the Lord
    and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
    with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
    with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
    the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:6-8

Observation: Micah rhetorically speaks for Israel as they beg for God's forgiveness from their impending punishment. Israel asks what they can do ... what acts they can perform ... what rituals they must execute ... what wild, outrageous, impossible sacrifice they can surrender. Then Micah answers - the Lord has shown them what is good, and it has nothing to do with ritual sacrifice, but instead has everything to do with their attitude. They are to love God, and love others, and if they had humbly done those things certainly everything else would have been sufficient.

Application: While Micah 6:8 is one of my life verses, in context these verses tell a deeper lesson. I know the lessons of what God wants me to do. However, in the full context this is also about the fact that NOTHING we do, NOTHING we have, NOTHING we are ... even NOTHING we don't have and could never possibly have ... is what God wants from us.

This is good, because I have been reminded in the last 24 hours about how little I have to bring to God. Even myself - giving my sinful self to him - isn't really good enough without my love, and without humility where I learn that I can do nothing without him.

Prayer: Lord, I humbly bow my head before you now. I cannot do even the most basic things without you guiding my life. I am not strong enough to accomplish good, avoid evil, love others, hold my tongue, or serve joyfully, without your strength and spirit. Please do not withhold from me, Lord, but place your spirit upon me at all times, but especially when I am weak and struggling. Show me the way to humbly walk with you, my Lord, in love and faith. Amen.