Our Bible verse for today: “Mankind, he has told each of you what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8 (CSB)
Our thought for today: “Just do the right thing and trust God.”
As we conclude our study about “overcoming” I want to end by considering the words of two Old Testament prophets. First is the statement from the prophet Micah from Micah 6:8 above. Micah ministered during the time when the Jews were divided into two nations, Israel in the north and Judah in the south.
For most of those years Judah experienced great prosperity – but mostly only for the rulers and the business class. The farmers and regular workers lived in poverty and they were exploited by the upper classes. Consequently there was great injustice – socially, economically, and in the legal system. Also, the nation had drifted far from God. So Micah wrote the words of Micah 6:8 to remind the Jews of what it was God required of them – to act justly, to live faithfully, and to honor God with their conduct. He also warned of coming disaster if they did not correct their ways.
Fast-forward about 150 years to the time of the prophet Habakkuk. Judah had not heeded Micah’s words of correction and now they were experiencing the consequences. The nation was in steady economic and military decline; there was also drought and famine. They were in a free-fall to the depths of despair and there was great suffering.
It was in that setting that Habakkuk wrote one of the greatest and most encouraging statements about faith in God and perseverance in hard times. In Habakkuk 3:17-19 we read: “Though the fig tree does not bud and there is no fruit on the vines, though the olive crop fails, and the fields produce no food, though the flocks disappear from the pen and there are no herds in the stalls, yet I will celebrate in the Lord; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation! The Lord my Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like those of a deer and enables me to walk on mountain heights!”
The lesson is that first and foremost we must honor God and bless others by how we conduct ourselves. To live otherwise is to invite disaster. And then, regardless of any other factor – regardless of circumstances or hardships, we must trust God. As bad as things were, Habakkuk still had great confidence in God, and so should we.
Whatever your current circumstances are, and whatever the reason for them, I encourage you to resolve to do the right thing – honor God by the way that you live and trust Him for the future.
Oak Hill Baptist Church