I remember several years
ago I was involved in a multi-car accident and although no one was injured, we
all received citations of one type or another.
As the inevitable traffic court date rolled around, I remember waiting
in the courthouse thinking, “regardless of what happens today, tomorrow will be
better.” Think about it: no matter how
badly things might have gone in that courtroom, “tomorrow” would be a chance to
start over. Tomorrow, I would climb up
out of whatever hole I might have found myself in from “today.”
Even though I was prepared
for the worst, everyone’s insurance had covered any expenses we had and since
we were satisfied, the judge was too and we were done. It seems “today” wasn’t all that bad after
all. But it could have gone so much
differently. What if it had? Would that have changed my outlook on “tomorrow?” You better believe it!
Our hopes can get pinned on
those “better days” but here’s one thing we must always remember: our hope in
the Lord guarantees a better day. Why
can I say that with such confidence?
Because no matter how rotten life might get—no matter what we lose in
this life—as the disciples of Jesus Christ, we are kids of the King. We can look forward to the better days with
extreme confidence…just like Micah does in our passage today.
14 Shepherd
your people with your staff,
the flock of your
inheritance,
which lives by itself in a
forest, in fertile pasturelands.
Let them feed in Bashan and
Gilead as in days long ago.
15 “As
in the days when you came out of Egypt,
I will show them my
wonders.”
16 Nations
will see and be ashamed, deprived of all their power.
They will put their hands
over their mouths and their ears will become deaf.
17 They
will lick dust like a snake,
like creatures that crawl
on the ground.
They will come trembling
out of their dens;
they will turn in fear to
the Lord our God and will be afraid of you.
18 Who
is a God like you,
who pardons sin and
forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry
forever but delight to show mercy.
19 You
will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot
and hurl all our iniquities
into the depths of the sea.
20 You
will be faithful to Jacob, and show love to Abraham,
as you pledged on oath to
our ancestors in days long ago.
Micah 7:14–20
In the final recorded words
of Micah the prophet, we read this beautiful prayer to the Lord. In it, He asks the Lord to be the Shepherd of
His people and care for them. In a sense,
Micah was longing for the “good old days” of Israel. In light of the imminent fall of Jerusalem to
the Babylonians, things were looking pretty bleak when Micah looked at the
circumstances.
But Micah was praying past
the circumstances. He prayed for a day
that would be like when the nation was led out of Egypt (verse 15). The Lord showed His power through the
miracles of the plagues against Egypt and Micah longed for the day when the
Lord would lead them out again into their own land. These miracles of the Exodus not only set
Israel free, it also caused great fear in the other nations since these were
obviously a very special group of people.
Indeed they were; Irsael was the apple of the Lord’s eye.
But the Lord’s people
didn’t truly understand that the Lord wasn’t as concerned with defeating other
nations and their enemies as much as He was concerned with defeating them. The Lord wanted a people reflecting His
holiness and righteousness. To do this,
He would have to drive the “Egypt” out of them.
It would take their utter defeat militarily to do this.
Micah’s name means, “Who is like Yahweh?” In verse 18, he poses this same question with
the description as He who “pardons sin and forgives the
transgression” and the One who does
“not stay angry forever but delight[s] to show mercy.” As this
book closes we are reminded of the Lord’s faithfulness in verse 20: “You
will be faithful to Jacob, and show love to Abraham, as you pledged on oath to
our ancestors in days long ago.”
Oh dear brothers and
sisters, we must never forget the faithfulness of the Lord. Even when we are faithless, He cannot deny
Who He is. He is the Holy, Faithful, and
Righteous One. Apostle Paul told young
Pastor Timothy, “If we endure, we will also reign with
him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are
faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself” (2 Timothy 2:12–13).
Regardless of how dark it
seems, the Light of the World is at the horizon, guiding and guarding. From the perspective of Heaven, our
punishment for our sins and the trials that sharpen our faith are so temporary
when compared to the totality of our lives.
When you compare it to eternity—there’s just no comparison.
Perhaps if the old Gospel
song “I Know Who Holds Tomorrow” was written back in Micah’s day he might have
drawn some additional comfort from it.
Fortunately, we do have it to reflect on as we end this brief study in
the writing of Micah.
Verse 1
I don’t know about tomorrow
I just live from day to day
I don’t borrow from its sunshine
For its skies may turn to gray
I don’t worry o’er the future
For I know what Jesus said
And today I’ll walk beside Him
For He knows what is ahead
Verse 2
Ev’ry step is getting brighter
As the golden stairs I climb
Ev’ry burden’s getting lighter
Ev’ry cloud is silver-lined
There the sun is always shining
There no tear will dim the eye
At the ending of the rainbow
Where the mountains touch the sky
Verse 3
I don’t know about tomorrow
It may bring me poverty
But the One who feeds the sparrow
Is the One who stands by me
And the path that is my portion
May be through the flame or flood
But His presence goes before me
And I’m covered with His blood
Chorus
Many things about tomorrow
I don’t seem to understand
But I know who holds tomorrow
And I know who holds my hand
“I Know Who Holds Tomorrow”
Ira Stanphill
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Life Meets Theology 