The Lord is my defender!

Micah 7:7 - As for me, I look to the Lord for help.

For just over two years, my husband and I have been praying that God would answer a specific need we have, which originated out of a bad choice we made. Throughout that time, we have gone through almost every range of emotion possible, including grief, anger, and fear.  We have worked hard to take our concerns and worries together and separately to the Lord, knowing that venting on one another will do no good. We have lamented together when we were disheartened and dug in and encouraged each other when struggling. And to that end, we have had days that were full of faith, where, even without answers, we felt the peace of God.

In short, we have definitely been in a long season of looking to the Lord for help, and now, as I see what is happening outside the walls of my home, looking to the Lord for help is further amplified. Is there chaos everywhere, Lord?

In the book of Micah, the prophet begins by warning Israel. They have judgment coming through the armies of Assyria and Babylon because their leaders and prophets have become corrupt through theft and greed. We see that God won’t let that sort of corruption stand, and although not permanent, He will enact judgement. However, because of his character and His promises to His people, he brings about hope.

This final passage we read in Micah is a personification; a suffering, defeated individual - hopeless. And the brilliance of employing this writing mechanism in God’s Word is that a passage in the Old Testament can manage to feel so personal.  

God’s character is on the line here. If we repent, will He save us? If we call on Him, will He hear us?

I don’t know about you, but I think those things.

I have often felt the hopelessness of a sinful moment or disappointing decision. I have had to live in the natural consequences of a bad choice. When I chose to do something that is in direct opposition to what God’s Word says, I can expect to see the rotten repercussions of that. When I say something I shouldn’t, I hurt the receiver of those words. When I make a terrible financial decision, I bring stress to my family.

Yet the Bible tells me all is not lost! The Lord is the same as He is today. He doesn’t hold me in that sin. No! The people of Israel had been in rebellion for over 500 years at this point- theft! Greed! Yet God reminds that He will take up their case (v. 9) and that just like the Israelites, He will “Bring me into the light”— that light is Jesus. (v. 8&9)

That is who God IS! His promises are true, and He is faithful when we are not. Dear sisters, “For though you fall, you will rise again.” (v. 8) Through Jesus, your Lord, repentance brings the peace of God back to your heart. It is there you will find your hope.

What about you? Is your heart echoing the above, “I look to the Lord for help,” (v. 7)  or are you more skeptical: “So where is the Lord- that God of yours?”  (v. 10) Do you need help from Him? Or are you angry that God would ask you to obey in a specific part of your life— that He would ask you to submit to something hard? Perhaps you are just struggling to hear Him at all?

I’ve been all of those. In my lowest moments, I’ve said, “You don’t care about me, Lord! You’ve left us! We made a mistake, and you are going to punish us forever!”

Yet here we see in Micah that God is not like that.

He is going to take up my case. He will fight for me. And then, the faithless will see Him in us.

Troubling things are erupting daily in our nation and in us. Our sin can be overwhelming. Draw on His character throughout time to remind yourself that God brings judgment that he might bring hope. Ask Him to remind you of that hope that we have the forever promises of a God who can be trusted.

Micah 7:7-10

 

Sarah Elmer

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