Dear friends.
One sentence from this week’s message deserves more room: happiness grows as we do what is right, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.
That can sound like a bargain. If I obey well enough, God will make life feel good. If I feel unhappy, perhaps I have failed him. But that reading can leave a tender conscience carrying a burden God never intended.
Sunday Rewind - each week I share a sermon from the Battle Ready Sermons archive. My role has shifted to training the next generation of Salvation Army officers at William Booth College, so I'm no longer preaching every Sunday, but God's word doesn't go out of date. These messages are here to encourage, challenge, and point you to Jesus, whenever you need them.
This week's sermon was originally preached 29 January 2023.
Look again at the order of Micah 6. Before God tells his people what he requires, he reminds them what he has already done. He brought them out of slavery. He gave them leaders. He protected them and brought them towards the land he had promised. His goodness comes before their response.
We obey because we have been loved. We do not obey to persuade God to begin loving us.
That changes the way we hear the invitation. Doing right becomes a response of trust. Loving mercy becomes sharing the kindness we have received. Walking humbly becomes paying attention to the God who is already walking with us.
And this happiness needs careful handling. A faithful Christian can grieve. A prayerful person can feel weary. Someone who loves God deeply can face a season when joy seems distant. Micah’s words must never become a test we use to judge another person’s pain.
The invitation is to a life rooted in God, where our choices and relationships begin to reflect his goodness. Such a life can hold sorrow and gratitude together. Its satisfaction is deeper than getting everything we want, and steadier than a passing pleasant feeling.
So this week, resist the urge to turn the sermon into a scorecard. Instead, read Micah 6:3–8 slowly. Ask: What goodness have I forgotten? Where am I keeping God at a distance? Who needs the mercy I have received?
Then choose one small response. Put an unfair decision right. Speak gently to someone who irritates you. Pause before a purchase and ask what you are hoping it will give you. Make space to listen before rushing into another day.
Bring that response into prayer. You do not need an impressive promise or a dramatic gesture. Ask God for courage to take today’s step, and humility to receive his help along the way.
You do not have to manufacture happiness today. You can entrust your whole life to God, including the parts that ache.
With love and prayers.
Rob