He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? – Micah 6:8, KJV

According to Revelation 4:11, God created everything for His pleasure. This being the case, the obvious follow up question is this: What brings God pleasure? There are many verses that teach us what brings God pleasure, and Micah 6:8 is one of those verses.

The word “good” in Micah 6:8 is the Hebrew word “towb” (pronounced tobe). One of its meanings is “pleasant (to the higher nature).” So, to please God, we are to treat others with fairness and justice, to love goodness, kindness, and faithfulness (which is what mercy is), and to live our lives in humble, regular communion with God. The key, of course, to living in a just and merciful manner is to first have the regular communion with God that Micah 6:8 calls for. If we do, then we will be able to access the heavenly power, described in Philippians 2:13, that enables us to live a heavenly life on Earth. If we don’t, then our human, sinful nature will direct our behavior, and rather than doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly, pride and selfishness will dominate our character, infuriating God rather than pleasing Him.

It’s not hard to grasp what we must do to please God. It is, however, hard to live out His requirements apart from a rich, continual communion with Him. Don’t let the busyness of life prevent you from spending time in prayer and Bible study with your Maker. If you do, your life will be less than what God intended, and He will not be pleased.