Daily Devotional For Monday, July 20, 2026
Good morning Southside. It’s Monday and it is hot and humid here. Please stay cool and hydrated. Today’s daily devotional comes from Micah 6:3:
“O my people, what have I done to you? What have I done to make you tired of Me? Answer Me!” (NLT).
Most pastors give spiritual advice to married couples in their church who are having marital problems. My experience has shown me that most couples in the church have never understood how God designed marriage. Typically, one or the other gets expectations of their spouse that they believe are no longer being met. It is common for couples to take each other for granted with the busyness of life, work, careers, raising children, and etc. If this is prolonged, cooling usually starts by one or both in the marriage towards the other.
When we come to Micah 6, God has issues and a quarrel with His people. It is not the Lord who pulled away, but Israel. For Micah 6 to make sense, you have to read it as if you were sitting in a courtroom. God is the Judge and Israel is the defendant on trial. See this like a Family Court, not a criminal court. God has grievances against His people and all He seeks is a renewal and restoration of His covenant relationship to them through their faithfulness to Him out of love.
Today, such a quarrel between a married couple might be resolved in a session with their pastor or a marriage counselor. In verse 2, God calls on nature, the mountains specifically, to give testimony of Israel’s infidelity and spiritual breach of their covenant with God. To the Lord, this is personal. He addresses them as “My people.” It is a gentle rebuke and God’s approach reminds us of God’s question to them in Isaiah 5:4. This reminds us of how God emphatically states He had not burdened them, but had lightened their burden (see Isaiah 43:23).
This should remind all of us of Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:30. When God questioned Israel through the prophet Micah, they were embarrassingly silent. So, God Himself provides the answers by showing them what He had done for them over and over. God called what He had done for Israel His “righteous acts” (see Micah 6:5). What were those “righteous acts?”
- God has redeemed them and their ancestors from slavery in Egypt (Micah 6:4).
- God had given them human leaders such as Moses, the great lawgiver. Even though 600 years have passed since Moses, God has continued to give them spiritual leaders such as Micah, Isaiah, and Hezekiah (Micah 6:4).
- God had turned their enemies’ curses into blessings by reminding them of what had happened to King Balak (see Deut. 23:3-6) and Balaam (Micah 6:5).
- God reminded His people who He had brought them from the plains of Moab into Canaan where they experienced the miraculous crossing (Josh. 3:1) of the Jordan River (Josh. 4:19).
As you read this story in Micah 6, you can see the redemptive hand of God the Father through God the Son, Jesus Christ. God had given and gives today pastors to help them in their spiritual growth. God takes even our enemies' lies and turns them into truths that convict them. God has plans to take us to our “Canaan” – heaven when we die. I started this devotional sharing about marriage. Spiritually, Jesus Christ is the Groom and we His church are the Bridegroom. What does your “marriage” or covenant relationship to Him look like to God and to you?
Reflection Assignment: As you read Micah 6:3, is the Lord asking you personally the same question? Is your relationship to the Lord growing, exciting, stretching you and motivating you to make differences in the lives of others? Or, are you just going through the motions of your faith, void of all emotion, as if your spiritual gauge was set to automatic? If you are not where you should be with the Lord, what do you think the Lord is saying to you to change that?
Scripture To Meditate On: Jeremiah 2:5, “This is what the Lord says: ‘What did your ancestors find wrong with Me that led them to stray so far from Me? They worshiped worthless idols, only to become worthless themselves” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, help me to not walk away from You or grow tired of You. You bless my life in so many ways in the past and today. Whatever grievances You have against me, You are justified with them. Help me to remain faithful to You, Lord. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly