"But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me." Micah 7:7
I eased into the room not sure of what to expect. My granddad had just had heart surgery a few days before. I had been there for the surgery and witnessed God's amazing grace. At 87 he came through triple by-pass with flying colors. When we went back to see him he looked as if he were only taking an afternoon nap. That was then, this was a week later. I knew that many times discouragement sets in and those who have had heart surgery experience a personality change. I walked in and was amazed. He was tired but glad to see me. The scar from the surgery was shining just above the top of his shirt. We had been talking for about 5 minutes when he grabbed my hand and said, "God brought me through. He brought me through the war, my first heart attack and now this heart attack. He has something else for me to do." Instead of discouragement, he shared hope. He shared who he was looking to in the middle of a tough time. He wasn't focused on the pain of the surgery. The situation was not a pleasant one, but his perspective made all the difference.
After I left that afternoon I reflected on what he had said. It reminded me of a Scripture passage I had shared the previous Wednesday night at church. I have been teaching a series on the Minor Prophets. For the past 11 weeks we have been studying the book of Micah. (yes, 11 weeks in that short book I typically move slow) The prophet pours out his heart in the first six verses of chapter 7. Everywhere he looks he sees nothing but troubling things. He says things like, "the godly have perished from the land" and "there is no upright person among men." (2) He even says that the "best of them is like a briar." (4) Then in verse seven of that chapter he makes the statement, "But as for me..." Micah makes a choice. He makes a choice to not dwell on the bad things. He could easily be trapped in discouragement, but instead he fixes his gaze somewhere else.
He chooses to look to God. If you want something that will change your perspective very quickly, spend a little time looking at the Sovereign Creator of the universe. And if you notice he says, "I will watch expectantly." He knows that God is faithful and will move in His time. So instead of dwelling on how bad things are, he looks hopefully to His God. Micah also says he will "wait" for God. This is one of the hardest things for us to do. Our culture is so accustomed to instant everything, waiting is hard to even imagine. We are also looking for the quick fix. Waiting means trusting God. It means knowing He is going to work according to His plan - not ours.
The final statement he makes is that God will hear him. How often do we pray as if God isn't really listening? As if maybe our prayers aren't getting through? In church we say the right things when it comes to prayer, but quite often our actions don't follow suit. Micah knows that God will hear him. We have that same assurance. Why else would we be told to pray without ceasing (I Thess. 5:17) and continue in prayer (Col. 4:2)?
We don't have to dwell in discouragement. We have a choice to make. We can choose to look at our circumstances and the situation we find ourselves in or we can look to God. God has something for you to do. Are you going to watch expectantly for what it might be?
