God, what DO you want?

What can we bring to the Lord? Should we bring him burnt offerings? Should we bow before God Most High with offerings of yearling calves? Should we offer him thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for our sins?

No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. —Micah 6:6-8

Pressed. Stressed. Even stretched. We’ve been there. Done that.

With groans, grumbles or deep-in-the-gut fears, flops and failures from being pressed, stressed and stretched, we turn to the God and ask, plea or perhaps demand, “What do you want?”

The questions we experience are ones Micah understands (and has likely asked himself). “God Most High, do you want our top of the top things? Do you want what holds the highest economic value to us and to the world?”

“No,” the Lord answers through Micah.

“Well, what then!” Note the exclamation point.

“Listen,” the Lord says gently, evenly. “I want you to give me what will give YOU the most in life—and that is to be guided in doing what is right (and I’ll be your guide here, so no worries). I also want you to love mercy. Add justice, equality and kindness in there, too.”

Ah, the sudden warm spot in our soul gets even warmer.

“And this one more thing,” the Lord adds with a grin we may not see but can certainly feel. “Be humble. With soft steps, move out of your own way so that you will do what you most want to do, and that is walk with me.”

So, yes, ask (or ask again) what the Lord wants from you. He’ll answer.

PRAYER: Lord, thank You for answering my prayers—especially the ones I ask about what you want (because I realize this is what I want, too). Amen.