By Tom Lamb
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August 26, 2025
🌿 What Does the Lord Require of You? 🌿 Not long ago I was asked to share some thoughts about a dear friend who had passed away. As I reflected on his life, certain qualities stood out immediately. He was loving. He cared deeply for others. He was humble. Those qualities reminded me of a powerful verse in Scripture. 👉 “Mankind, He has told 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) If we step back and look at Micah 6, we see God presenting a courtroom scene. He places His people on trial and asks a piercing question: “My people, what have I done to you, or how have I wearied you? Testify against Me!” (Micah 6:3) The people of Israel had grown self-sufficient. Life was good. They were comfortable, successful, and satisfied. Because of this, they no longer felt a deep need for God. Their focus had shifted inward. They became more concerned with themselves and with gaining more, even at the expense of others. Does that sound familiar in your own life? How easy it is when things are going well to slip into the mindset that we can handle life on our own. Our hearts can quietly drift from reliance on God to reliance on ourselves. The people asked God what they could do to make things right. Their answers sounded religious, but they missed the heart of the matter. They suggested outward rituals, pious gifts, and even extreme sacrifices like giving their firstborn. But God’s reply in Micah 6:8 is simple, clear, and deeply personal. What does He want from you and me? 1️⃣ Do what is fair and just to your neighbor. Jesus taught us to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:39). In the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), it was not the religious leaders who did what was right, but a Samaritan man who stopped to care for a stranger in need. He gave his time, his resources, and his compassion. Doing what is fair and just may cost us something, but it reflects God’s heart toward others. 2️⃣ Be compassionate and loyal in your love. Paul describes this beautifully in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. “Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not conceited, does not act improperly, is not selfish, is not provoked, and does not keep a record of wrongs. Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” This kind of love is not something we can generate on our own. It comes as an overflow of our relationship with God. Only through the Holy Spirit can we love people with patience, kindness, and loyalty when it is not easy. 3️⃣ Walk humbly with your God. Peter gives us this reminder: “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your care on Him, because He cares about you.” (1 Peter 5:5-7) To walk humbly with God means to acknowledge our total dependence on Him. It means recognizing daily that apart from His mercy and grace, we are lost. True humility is not putting yourself down. It is seeing yourself rightly before God, fully loved, fully forgiven, yet fully dependent on Him for every step of the journey. So let me ask you personally. How would you answer God’s question? “My people, what have I done to you? How have I wearied you?” (Micah 6:3) Have you slipped into self-sufficiency? Are you more focused on your own wants and achievements than on God’s presence in your life? Have you replaced a real relationship with Him with empty rituals or good works done out of obligation? If so, Micah 6:8 gives us the way back. Remember that God has already brought you out of the bondage of sin through Jesus Christ. He has saved you, given you eternal life, and promised to walk with you daily. He asks not for empty acts, but for your heart and your obedience. He calls you to act justly, love faithfully, and walk humbly with Him. That is where real peace, purpose, and joy are found. 💡 Today, take some time to read Micah 6. Reflect on your own life, not just the world around you. Ask God to show you where you may have drifted into self-reliance, pride, or empty routine. Then pray: 🙏 “Lord, help me to live out Micah 6:8 in my daily walk. Teach me to do what is just, to love faithfully, and to walk humbly with You every moment.”
