By Emily Hill

Do you ever notice how we don’t want to hear the advice that’s best for us? We’d rather keep doing what we know how to do or stay comfortable living life the way we always have. That’s what this passage reminds me of when the Israelites don’t want to hear what the prophet Micah had to say—“Do not prophesy about these things; disgrace will not overtake us” (Micah 2:6). 

La-La-La-La

I imagine children covering their ears and singing, “La-la-la-la-la-la,” to ignore what their parents are trying to tell them. But the parents always have the best, most loving intentions for their children when they are trying to discipline them or give them guidance that they don’t want to hear. 

That’s exactly the same way God is with his people. In verse 7 Micah responded to the false prophets: “Do not my words do good to the one whose ways are upright?”

His Yoke Is Easy

God’s words through the prophet Micah to Israel, and to us today, are for our own good as individuals and for the world. But we don’t want to hear them because they disrupt our comfortable lives. It’s a scary prospect to step out and allow God to shake things up. And as God begins to reveal his way for us and our lives—even as we begin to step out and trust God’s leading—it can be tempting to turn back to our old ways that feel safer and more within our control. 

But rather than cover our ears, we must learn to trust God’s perfect love and his way for our lives. God does not speak difficult words into our lives to condemn us but to restore us to life in all its fullness. As you ask God to show you where he wants to shake up your life, ask for his mercy along the way. His yoke is easy and his burden is light and we can be assured that he shows mercy to those who love him. 

Emily Hill, an advocate for economic solutions to justice issues, founded Stop Traffick Fashion and will soon receive her MA in social justice at Kilns College in Bend, Oregon.