1 Kings 22:5-8
5 And
Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Inquire first for the word of the Lord.” 6 Then the king of Israel gathered
the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall I go to
battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for
the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.” 7 But Jehoshaphat said, “Is
there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we
may inquire?” 8 And
the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may
inquire of the Lord, Micaiah the son of Imlah, but I hate him, for he never prophesies
good concerning me, but evil.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.”
Discernment is vital to a life of recovery. There are many false voices in the world, telling you that anything is okay. Unfortunately, there can be false voices even within the church, and it can be very tempting to listen to someone who will approve of your behavior. Ahab had 400 prophets to consult, and they all told him that he would be successful in what he wanted to do (verse 6). These "prophets" were supposed to listen to God, but instead they were just telling the king what he wanted to hear. There was one prophet, Micaiah, who was honest and would say God's true words. But Ahab didn't want to consult him, because he didn't really want to hear what he said (verse 8). We need to beware of trying to pick and choose our "consultants" based on whether we like their message. Sometimes it is the tough messages that we most need to hear.
Lord, grant me discernment and humility to hear Your correction.
Discernment is vital to a life of recovery. There are many false voices in the world, telling you that anything is okay. Unfortunately, there can be false voices even within the church, and it can be very tempting to listen to someone who will approve of your behavior. Ahab had 400 prophets to consult, and they all told him that he would be successful in what he wanted to do (verse 6). These "prophets" were supposed to listen to God, but instead they were just telling the king what he wanted to hear. There was one prophet, Micaiah, who was honest and would say God's true words. But Ahab didn't want to consult him, because he didn't really want to hear what he said (verse 8). We need to beware of trying to pick and choose our "consultants" based on whether we like their message. Sometimes it is the tough messages that we most need to hear.
Lord, grant me discernment and humility to hear Your correction.