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. The godly people have all disappeared; not one honest person is left on the earth. (Micah 7:1-2a)
Ever look at the world and get discouraged? Micah understands. As he looked around at the society around him, he stated, “How miserable I am.” From his perspective, there was not an honest person left in the land. Political leaders were corrupt. Judges were ruling cases based on their own biases and greed. The powerful were unchecked in getting what they wanted. And the family had totally disintegrated into anger, rivalry, backstabbing, and betrayal. A man’s enemies are the members of his own household (7:6b). We don’t know much about Micah’s family but you can’t help but think that Micah was speaking from personal experience. It’s bad enough when society is going downhill but when you find that your own family has turned on you, then you really fell all alone. This is Micah’s situation. So what does he do?
But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me (7:7).
Micah kept praying, watching, and waiting on the LORD. He took his despair and discouragement to the LORD and he waited…and watched…and waited some more for God’s deliverance.
It’s not necessarily the advice that we want to hear. We are so accustomed to quick fixes and fast resolutions. Think of the products on TV. All of them promise “fast relief” or “instant results.” Ever hear one that says, “Results will come after many years of waiting, exercising patience, and trusting God.” Yeah, right.
Waiting is not our forte. This hectic, quick-results culture spills over into our Christian lives…into our churches. We want maturity…fast. We want growth…immediately. We want change…now! Consequently we cut corners…we look for “spiritual growth steroids”…we go after marketing and slick presentations…we look for “secret” and “revolutionary” methods to spirituality. None last.
God allows us to face discouragement, to struggle emotionally, to deal with disappointment in order to teach us how to look beyond this world, beyond our present situation, and to wait on Him, trust in Him, hope in Him. It’s not easy. True spiritual growth never is. But, in God’s eyes, the process is as important as the result. His goal is to make us like Christ…and there are no short-cuts to Christ-like character.
So in the midst of the struggles of life, we have to learn to say with Micah, “But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior, my God will hear me.”