If you were to look back over your life and share God’s record, what would your answer be? We all have asked that very personal question. But have we as a nation asked that question?
“O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me.” Micah 6:3
If we are all honest, we have all had moments in our lives where we look back at things and say the words, “What have I done?” Most of the time, it involves something that we potentially regret. There are many times that it happens when we are trying to fix something and make a bigger mess of it than it already was.
I remember one such time in my life. I was befriending a woman in our church. She was separated from her second husband and was the mother of nine children. One of her daughters and mine were close friends; so, I would frequently be at her home to deliver or pick up my daughter. This often gave me time to converse with her and sometimes help her in small ways. As we got to know each other, I could see her true devotion to God in her loving care of her children. I could see her emotional and financial struggles and how she dealt with them, all of which I considered the ways a Godly woman would handle the situation. I admired her in many ways.
Many of the other women in church were very critical of her. In my opinion they were out of line in their comments, and I stood up for her. That put me in some sort of judgmental spotlight at the church and eventually, someone accused us of adultery. Like all the other criticisms of her, the accusations against us were simply not true. But in that moment of discovery of the false accusation, I truly did ask myself, “Oh dear God, what have I done? I helped her in good faith, now I, too, am being falsely accused.”
Please note the premise of the question is not rhetorical; it is to reflect on the past and give an account of what happened. That’s what God is asking of the people here in Micah. He asks the question, “What have I done?” God is saying, look back over all the things in your life. Look at all the moments, all of the trials, all of the good times and the bad. Look at all the sins and transgressions you have done against me.
God is challenging the people to tell HIm one bad thing He has done against them. What an awesome thought for us all to think about. If we look back over our lives, can any of us think of one bad thing that God has done? If we answer honestly, there’s not a single one!
God has given grace and mercy to us beyond what we deserve. He never promised to make our lives easy. But He has promised that He would be with us, working things in our lives according to His will. His thoughts are not like ours. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.” Isaiah 55:8.
Serious lessons can be pondered in moments like these. Those lessons are always learned, but what we conclude is either acceptance of our wrongdoing, our sin, and continuing as we were, or discerning God’s will in the matter and prayerfully making appropriate changes in compliance with our Father’s will. If you were to look back over your life and share God’s record, what would your answer be? While my life has not been perfect, God has never forsaken me. He’s been faithful to give grace and mercy, no matter how much I try to mess things up. What about you?
