Articles
What God Wants From Us: Walk Humbly With Him
It’s easy to live a life focused on what we want, but to live life in a God-pleasing way, we must consider what God’s desires are first and foremost – and then fulfill them! Over the past few weeks we’ve been focusing on Micah 6:8 and addressing God’s requirements to “do justice” (always doing what’s right), and to “love kindness (or mercy).” The third and final point in Micah’s list is “to walk humbly with your God.”
Where does one even begin with such an amazing thought? The idea of walking with God should be humbling in itself! It’s one thing to be “star-struck” over a celebrity, but there would be nothing more incredible (and humbling) than having the opportunity to walk side-by-side with the Creator of the universe! While we have every desire to be in His presence in eternity, in essence, Micah is telling us we can walk alongside Him now in this life. God will be present in our life if we submit ourselves in obedience to Him!
Perhaps the best way to explain how to “walk humbly with your God” is to look at a man in Scripture who was described as doing so himself. In Genesis 6:9 we read that, “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.” When we see the word “blameless,” we may assume it means “sinless.” Based on what Paul wrote in Romans 3, we know there’s no man (aside from Jesus) who fits that description. Instead, another word that is rendered from the same Hebrew word for “blameless” is “integrity,” and perhaps that’s an easier word to run with here. Noah had integrity – he “did justice” – when the rest of the world did not. So by comparison, Noah was “blameless” and he “walked with God.”
If we’re to believe the apostle Peter (and I do!), it would be safe to say that Noah “loved kindness” as well. Peter referred to Noah as, “a herald of righteousness” in 2 Peter 2:5, and in 1 Peter 3:20 he reported that, “God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared…” When we put those two thoughts together, I believe it’s clear that Noah wasn’t just building a big boat for himself and his family. For Noah to be a “herald,” it means that he was a messenger. Noah was displaying his faith and submission not only in actively building the ark, but verbally warning people of the coming flood due to the world’s sinfulness. That’s integrity (doing justice). That’s being merciful (loving kindness). That’s submission (walking humbly with God).
Finally, we need to point out the personal aspect of this. Micah didn’t just say “walk humbly with God.” That’s amazing enough. What Micah said was to “walk humbly with YOUR God.” While Micah was speaking to Judah at the time, his words still ring true today: God can be YOUR God too. If we truly care for what God requires of His creation – doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with Him, He will recognize us as His because we will be resembling His precious Son (Philippians 2:5-8). May we all give God what He so richly deserves!
