What Does God Require of You? Part Five

“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)

“To walk humbly with your God” means to live in conscious fellowship with God.

It is to recognize God’s absolute holiness and submit to His will.

In Scripture the term “walk” often refers to a lifestyle.  To be humble means to be respectfully obedient.

When Elizabeth Barrett married the ultimately famous poet Robert Browning her parents disowned her. She and Robert moved far away to Florence, Italy. She loved her parents and sought reconciliation. Several times a month she would write telling them of her love. After 10 years there came a response. She received a package from her parents which she opened with excitement. Elizabeth’s happy moment rapidly faded when she found inside all of her letters to her parents — unopened.

Elizabeth, like Robert, was a poet. Her letters of reconciliation have been called “some of the most beautiful and expressive in the English language.”  Unfortunately her parents never read them.

Like Elizabeth, our Lord went to extreme measures to achieve reconciliation. Have you left His love letters unread. As Micah said God has shown us what is good. To find what is “good” read and obey His love letters. Accept His offer of reconciliation.

Come to the cross. It is an exhortation to “do justly.” It was sin, human kinds injustice, that put Him there. 

Come to the cross. It is an appeal to love mercy because of the mercy manifested there.

Come to the cross. It empowers one, enabling a walk with God.

God has mercy on us even though we often lack obedience. This verse describes what God wants us to do after receiving the grace of forgiveness: to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. 

To “walk humbly with God” is the basis for loving mercy and doing justice. Because of what God has done, we should fully invest in healing the world around us through mercy and justice.

God has given each of us gifts and abilities to live out the truths in Micah 6: 8. These truths are what He wants out of you as a show of all He has done and is doing for you. 

Consider yourself entering God’s school room for an exam based on Micah 6: 8. How would you do? Here is a prep sheet to prepare for the test.

“…what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God.”