The Daily Walk

Micah 6:6-8
"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. "


This verse has been replaying itself over and over in my mind. There is so much in there...


And what does the Lord require? The same things then as He does now. The hard things to live by. The daily sacrifice to self. "To act justly and love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."


What does it mean to act justly and yet to love mercy at the same time? Doesn't that seem to contradict itself? When I think of JUSTICE, I think of an eye for an eye, the wrong being righted by punishment, the weak being represented by the strong. But when I think of mercy... I think of grace. I think of someone extending a hand to help the fallen when they don't deserve it. The definition of mercy is "compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one's power."  


See what I mean? Are we now talking about a merciful justice? Justice that seems to look through the lens of mercy before making a step of judgement? 


And isn't that how the Lord is... merciful and just. My protector, the one that goes before me and the one that is so ready to forgive me of the wrongs I have committed against Him. But the one that HAD TO DIE for me because of all that I have done. He follows His rules but extends grace and mercy along with every move. How amazing is that? 


"...and to walk humbly with your God" I love that getting to "walk" with our God is something that is good and that is required of us. How amazing is our God that He would want to walk with us? 


And what does it mean to walk humbly with our God? If I was physically walking next to the Lord daily I would not be able to help feeling humble in His presence. I would rightfully be shown how small and insignificant I am standing next to Him. And if I am honest, I hope there would be no room for my pride standing in His glory. 


But isn't my life supposed to reflect that? I know He is present. I know that when I am in prayer with Him, it is a conversation and that, mindfully, I should be humbly walking with Him daily. So why am I so selfish? Why do I come first before so many other people in my life? Why is it so hard to JUST BE HUMBLE? 


I know there is a reason for the last part of this verse. I cannot do it on my own. It has to be the Lord's justice and mercy, His humble heart within me. It is the act of "walking with your God" that can transform a heart into something that will reflect Him.