What Does the Lord Desire of Me?

A familiar text:

Micah 6:8
He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?

This has been the question that the Lord has put on my heart. What does the Lord desire of me? As I consider the future, and what I should be engaged in, what direction to move in, I have my own plans, but He is the one who ultimately decides.

Prov 16:9
The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.

Ps 115:3
But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.

What a comfort that we serve a Sovereign Lord! We do make mistakes, and He disciplines us for that (Heb 12). But no one can resist His will of decree. The Scriptures teaches both:

Ps 37:18
The LORD knows the days of the blameless, and their inheritance will be forever.

He knows our days! He knows all of our days; past, present and future. Yet we are still called to make decisions that are wise, and godly, and to seek His wisdom before we proceed (James 1:5-8).

And so we grapple with this tension. Wanting, in part, to honor Him. But, if we are honest, we usually have our own interests in mind as the majority of our concern. What will bring me the most pleasure? What will bring me the least amount of conflict, or the most comfort? Yet, Micah reminds us that the focus is not on what we receive. It is on our obedience and what we are to do. We are to 1) do justice 2) love kindness and 3) to walk humbly with our God. Obedience to the One who shed His blood for us should cause all of our man-centered tendencies to be cast away. Hack them to pieces, as Agag was (1Sam 15:33). Consider all things as rubbish, that we may gain Christ (Phil 3:8).

We need to daily ask this question; "What does the Lord desire of me?" The answer to this is found, in principle, in His word. In practical application we find it by being filled and led by His Spirit as in accordance with the Scriptures. Once we know what He desires, nothing else can matter, can it? "He has told (us)." With knowledge comes responsibility. Let us live in light of our allegiance to Him and Him alone.