Choose wisely ∙

Choose wisely ∙

I am counting on the LORD; yes, I am counting on him. I have put my hope in his word. – Psalms 130:5

Micah 7:1-7

 1 How miserable I am! I feel like the fruit picker after the harvest who can find nothing to eat. Not a cluster of grapes or a single early fig can be found to satisfy my hunger.

 2 The godly people have all disappeared; not one honest person is left on the earth. They are all murderers, setting traps even for their own brothers.

 3 Both their hands are equally skilled at doing evil! Officials and judges alike demand bribes. The people with influence get what they want, and together they scheme to twist justice.

 4 Even the best of them is like a brier; the most honest is as dangerous as a hedge of thorns. But your judgment day is coming swiftly now. Your time of punishment is here, a time of confusion.

 7 As for me, I look to the LORD for help. I wait confidently for God to save me, and my God will certainly hear me.

“The reason why some people can’t go far in life. It is because of the weight on their shoulder. They have a heavy burden on them. This burden consists of screenshots, messages, conversations, and secrets. That can destroy families or someone’s life. It consists of grudges, hate, anger, revenge, jealousy, gossip, lies, and envy. Their hearts are overloaded. They are holding on to others’ past and mistakes” (De philosopher DJ Kyos).

Every individual has their own set of burdens to bear. A burden refers to a weighty responsibility or duty that must be carried. They are something that is onerous, intricate, or unpleasant and requires effort or concern to manage.

The prophets not only declared the Father’s message with their lips, but they also carried the weight of the people’s troubles on their hearts. Jeremiah, who has been referred to as the weeping prophet, shed tears over the nation’s transgressions and yearned to weep even more (Jeremiah 9:1). Likewise, Micah grieved because there were no righteous individuals left in the land, and searching for one was as futile as seeking summer fruit after the harvest season.

Micah drew a comparison between corrupt officials and skilled hunters who devised cunning nets to ensnare the helpless. These officials and judges were adept at perverting the law to deceive and rob the unsuspecting, but they lacked proficiency in obeying the Father’s commandments. Instead of serving as compassionate shepherds who aid others, they acted like thorns and briars, inflicting harm. By choosing falsehood over truth, they ushered in a period of chaos.

When truth no longer serves as society’s guiding principle, everything begins to disintegrate. The adhesive that holds society together is our fidelity to our commitments and our word.

This confusion had permeated all strata of society. Despite the dire state of the land and the imminent and inescapable judgment, one would think it prudent for people to forsake their sinful ways and have faith in the Lord. However, those who are rebellious and obstinate do not act wisely, for they are blinded by their own darkness (John 3:19–21) (Wiersbe).

As children of the King, we can do wise things. We are children of the light and not the darkness. We have the freedom and the desire to do what is right.

“Whether we like it or not, waiting on God is a big part of our walk of faith. When we do all that we can, in faith, and then wait for God to do the rest, we demonstrate our trust and proclaim His faithfulness” (Stanley).

REFLECT & PRAY

In times of hardship, placing our trust in the Father serves as a bridge to attain hope and confidence.

Father no matter how dire the circumstances, strengthen me to focus on You and employ a strategy of hope.

INSIGHT

The Father has ordained that people reap what they sow whether good or bad. There is grave collateral damage for disobedience. It is not necessarily immediate, but it will surely come.

Hosea 8:7 They have sowed the wind and will harvest the whirlwind.

“Every farmer understands the meaning of this principle: We reap what we sow, more than we sow, and later than we sow” (Stanley).

Micah understood the times in which he lived. Micah was heartbroken that the people of Israel had turned away from the Father. The consequences of sowing disobedience were social upheaval, ungodliness, and disloyalty.

It brought Micah great personal misery and anguish of soul. But then something wonderful happened. Micah refocused. He took his eyes off the rebellion of the people and fixed them upon the Father’s faithfulness. Hope became his strategy. As a prophet, he was able to look down through the centuries to the final outcome that the Father had promised. As he confidently waited upon the Lord in hope. The circumstances he faced somehow became much smaller and more manageable.

Micah 7:7 As for me, I watch in hope for the LORD. I wait confidently for God to save me, and my God will certainly hear me.

What does it take to maintain stability and confidence in dire, even savage times? Micah leads the way with a strategy of hope. He watches, waits, and prays. He is certain that the Father will hear. In such moments, “clinging to and acting in response to our hope in God is our strategy, the only strategy that will help us weather life’s storms” (Adam Holz).

As children of the King, we can choose what we sow. If we have chosen poorly and sowed to our own detriment, we can reverse course. We can choose to sow to the Spirit.

Galatians 6:8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

“But choose wisely. For as the true Grail will bring you life, the false Grail shall take it from you” (Grail Knight, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade).

Lay Your Burden Down (Chuck Girard)

Lay your burden down, lay your burden down. Take your troubled soul, your tired mind.

And lay your burden down.

Lay your burden down, get your feet on solid ground. Take your worries to the foot of the cross, and lay your burden down.

Lay your burden down, lay your burden down. Take your weary life, your heavy load, and lay your burden down.

Lay your burden down, get your feet on solid ground. Take your failures to the foot of the cross, and lay your burden down.

And the strength you once were feelin’, isn’t there no more. And you think the wrong you’ve done, is just too much to be forgiven. But you know that isn’t true. Just lay your burden down, . . . He has Forgiven you

Choose wisely – make hope your strategy.

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© Dr. H 2023