Micah 4:5 For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever.
All of us have heard a child who cries out for his or her mother. They call, “Mommy!” because their mommy is everything they need. They may not even be conscious of what it is they need. They may be afraid, hungry, or distressed in some way, but they know that mom is the answer to that need. The fact is, if you live long enough, there comes a day when you realize that momma can’t cut it. She can’t help you anymore. Maybe she is not here, or maybe there is someone else in your life that is the go-to person. That is not bad. We need others. But, all of us have our limits, and you are going to find that many of the people to whom you look for help are as inadequate as you are in some area.
God is not. God is everything you need and everything you are not. When you read about God by different names that He has given Himself, you learn something about this God. Micah 4 is a passage that can best be described in the words “in the last days.” You find these words repeatedly in the next two chapters. These chapters are about the judgment of Israel’s enemies, enemies whom God used to judge Israel, and it is about the establishment of a future kingdom. So, this is what is coming down the pike.
Notice with me the names of God. In verse 2 he is called “the God of Jacob.” This is speaking of the God of Israel, the God of a man and of a nation that God produced through that man. We are saying that God is a covenant-keeping God. He is a personal God. Now you are not Israel and the church is not Israel, but God will keep His covenant to Israel, God will keep His promises to the church, and God will keep His promises to you. So, take God personally.
Hebrews 13:5 says, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” A good friend of mine recently said that God will not leave, intentionally abandon, or forsake, passively drift off, from us. I love that! Hebrews is telling us that God will neither actively nor passively leave us alone. You cannot flee this God. So, God is a promise-keeping God.
In verse 4 you find another name of God, “the LORD of hosts.” This means “the LORD of armies,” angelic or otherwise. He is a mighty God in that sense. But Micah 5:5 says of the Messiah, “This man shall be the peace.” Ephesians 2:14 says, “For he is our peace.” The Messiah is peace between sinful man and holy God. He is the reason for peace between Jew and Gentile. That God is a powerful God, and that is what gives us peace.
In verse 4 you find a picture of future prosperity, and “none shall make them afraid,” the Bible says. They are not afraid because the “LORD of hosts hath spoken it.” He will give safety. So, it is God’s very nature as terrible and mighty that gives us peace. God doesn’t just bring peace; He is peace.
So, God is personal and powerful, and He gives us peace. He is also universal. Verse 13 calls God “the Lord of the whole earth.” The book of Jonah says that Jonah “rose up to flee” from the presence of God. You can’t do that! Maybe you have tried. Well, you haven’t succeeded. Maybe you feel like God has abandoned you. He hasn’t. The psalmist said that whether he went up or down, God was there. He could not lose God! So, I don’t know what it is you need today, but God does, and God is everything you need and everything you are not.