Micah 6:8 "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".

I thought of this verse whilst meditating on the Verse of the Day from my phone app. The verse was 1 Peter 5:6 

"If you bow low in God’s awesome presence, he will eventually exalt you as you leave the timing in his hands".

These verses demand some self-examination regarding our attitude towards God. For example, how often have we prayed,"God, if you will do.......... for me, then I will ............" (You can fill in the blanks).

Please know that our Sovereign Lord, gracious, merciful and loving God does not perform for favours. Oh we might dress it up as laying out a fleece (as in Giddeon), or looking for guidance, but let us be very careful we are not trying to bargain with God. 

Another worldly thought that can result in a creeping resentment towards God might be, "God I've been really good at/faithful in.........so surely I deserve ..............When do I get my reward?"

We must be very careful to understand that our salvation is through Jesus alone, His death in our place, His resurrection and His eventual return. We can do nothing to earn it, God can't love us anymore than He does. It doesn't depend on what we do or don't do. Our service to Him must be as a response to His love for us, not a means of earning it. But oh how the world's way of thinking creeps in if we're not careful!

How about this one:"My leadership team doesn't recognise me for all the hard work I put in. Why hasn't God prompted them to elevate me to a higher position? Are they not listening to Him?"

Jesus talked often of obedience, and the verse from Micah sums that up. What God desires from us is humble obedience to Him, and that we share His love, mercy and grace with those around us. Not so we gain reward, not as a tit-for-tat bargain. 

Though things might be difficult for us at present we have the promise that He will lift us up at the right time. Sometimes there is stuff we must endure - if it's not through our own disobedience, it will be to strengthen and refine us. 

We have the promised Holy Spirit within us - the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead! He will never leave us or forsake us, we are not abandoned or unrecognised in His Kingdom. He knows what we need, where we often only know what we want. He is faithful, trustworthy, compassionate, all-seeing, all-knowing, eternally loving. 

So let us make sure to check our response to Him. 

Have a blessed day. 💖