Last Sunday, Patrick gave a message to several Youth and Adult leaders based on Micah 6:8, which says, "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" He did a great job of breaking this passage down in practical ways for all of us. But the overall theme of this scripture and Patrick's teaching got me thinking...
Just what IS God saying?
This is a question we all face at times--especially times like this when we're seeking Him in fasting and prayer. I mean, "Is God asking me to do more or less?," "Go left or right?", "Start or stop?", etc. We want him to speak and we sometimes think He's holding out on us or acting like a stubborn child, facing away from us with His lower lip stuck out and His arms folded--refusing to answer until we pray enough, fast enough, work hard enough, or whatever He wants at the moment. We want answers and He seems silent...
But could it be that He's already spoken?
Now I need to clarify that I DO believe that God still speaks through the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures to every believer. The problem often is that we're not listening versus the fallacious idea that God's not speaking. Still, to some degree, the REAL problem is that God has already spoken and we're ignorant of it.
Micah 6:8 is a great example. It has been in the Bible for well over 2,000 years. Ironically, it says, "He HAS TOLD YOU, O man....(emphasis mine)." What does God want us to do? He wants us to focus on doing and promoting justice, loving and living kindness, and walking a lifestyle of true humility under his authority. We can (and should as Pat did) unpack these phrases, but my point is--it's all there for us and has been for centuries! So why are we still asking, "Just what IS God Saying to us?"
Partly, it's because we don't read what He has written (the Bible). Partly because we don't believe it when we do. God is NOT a stubborn brat, holding back on his kids because he wants us to sweat before answering our basic questions of life. Most of them He's already answered. The rest? Well, He's glad to deal with those as we pray and listen in the Spirit.
In His Love,
Pastor Joel
New Podcast