Tuesday, May 19, 2015
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The longer I drive on given days the heavier my eyelids get. Like 99% of the men in the world, I like to do the driving. And once in a while I drive past my primetime alertness shall we say. That's when my wife starts to think of things to keep me awake longer, like turning on the radio.
She doesn't turn on music I like. No, she chooses some style of music that I like the least and turns up the volume. It works! I'm so irritated I can't fall asleep. If she changed to a station that played music I liked, that would probably be like a lullaby for me. See, that's a time when what I like to hear isn't what I need to hear.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When You Don't Like the Advice You Need."
Our word for today from the Word of God, here's an interesting story out of 1 Kings 22. King Ahab of Israel is preparing to go to battle against the King of Syria to take back some Jewish land. He's trying to get the King of Judah to be his ally, and that king gives him some excellent advice. In fact, it's some advice you and I could use when we're facing an important decision.
First of all, he inquires of the Lord. Here's what King Ahab does. It says in verse 6, "So the king of Israel brought together the prophets—about four hundred men—and asked them, 'Shall I go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?' 'Go' they answered, 'for the Lord will give it into the king's hand.' (When the king asks you a question, you want to give him the answer he's looking for, right?) But Jehoshaphat (whose the king of Judah, who he's asked to help him) asked, 'Is there not a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of?'" Well, "The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, 'There is still one man through whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah.'"
So as expected, he predicted disaster if they go into this battle. In verse 18, after that prophecy it says, "The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, 'Didn't I tell you he never prophesies anything good about me, but only bad?'" So Ahab went to battle and he never came back alive. He thought he was safe; not listening to what he didn't want to hear.
I wonder how many times I've done that. Maybe it's happening to you right now. There's someone in your life who's giving you advice that goes against what you want. In that case, most people just keep asking for advice until they find someone who will tell them what they want to hear. And in many cases, that stubbornness has led to a whole lot of heartache. Because God loves you, I'm thinking He's probably put someone in your life who will speak truth to you. Maybe it's someone who seems like they're being mean to you. They've told you what you really look like sometimes; what you really sound like.
Those people are often like the prophet Micaiah tried to be for Ahab, a voice from God. But maybe like Ahab, you're listening to the wrong people. And like Ahab, you may end up responsible for the result. It may be a response to a person in your life who holds up an honest mirror, who loves you enough to tell you the truth. Don't resist the truth, whoever delivers it and in whatever way, even if it's not a particularly good tone in which they deliver it. Be thankful for them. It might be a parent, a son or daughter, or a pastor, a friend, or Christian leader.
The person who tells you things you don't want to hear may not always present it positively or sensitively, but that doesn't mean it's not true. It doesn't mean you don't need the message just because the messenger did not deliver it well. Ask yourself, "Lord, are you trying to tell me something through this person? I need someone who cares enough to do something to wake me up, even if it's something I don't appreciate very much."
Don't drive to disaster because you're only listening to music you like to hear. What you need to be listening to; the advice, the counsel that God has for you, it's probably coming from a person who loves you, even if you don't like what you hear. Be thankful for them and listen for the voice of God.