1 Kings 22

1Ki 22:8
So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "There is still one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the LORD; but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil." And Jehoshaphat said, "Let not the king say such things!"

Such childish comments coming from a king! I can't help but laughed. But aren't we all like this? We desire to hear good things, but avoid the bad news. Similarly, we ask God for good things, but pray that we might not meet with the bad. We say we aren't sure if we can have the strength to handle trials and temptations. But we definitely have the appetite for good blessings.

However, as the verse suggests, as long as the word came from God, regardless whether it is good or bad, we should accept it with gladness. Micaiah was a man "by whom we may inquire of the LORD" and so, regardless of whether he prophesy good or evil, the king should accept it as being from God. Morever, we know that God's plans for us are not of evil, but of hope and a future (Jer 29:11). It is for us to seek Him and find Him. But I guess, to the king then, he could only see the prophesy as evil.

For us today, we should gladly receive both blessings and trials from God. I see both as the grace of God upon us. Blessings allow us to offer up thanksgiving and praises to God, whereas trials allow us to grow into mature christians in the Lord. It is only through trials that we are refined and moulded into the image of God. Like a silversmith, God refines us to get rid of any impurities that might be defiling us. Like a potter, God works on us, the clay, and mould us into His image.

Another verse struck me, and by which caused me to admire Micaiah, the prophet of God.

1Ki 22:13
Then the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, "Now listen, the words of the prophets with one accord encourage the king. Please, let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak encouragement."

The messenger was trying to use the pressure of the group to impel Micaiah to follow the crowd. This is a situation that all of us must have been in before. We, the sanctified ones of the Lord, will especially face this kind of pressure coming from the outside world, compelling us to be like one of them.

But we are not one of them. Not anymore, after we have been washed by His blood. (cf 1 John 4:4-6)

Micaiah knew exactly his role as a prophet, that is to convey the true word of the LORD, and he carried it out faithfully. He was indeed very brave to speak contrary to the entire group of 400 prophets and even when he was sentenced into prison, he spoke with conviction these words:

"If you ever return in peace, the LORD has not spoken by me. Take heed, all you people!" (1Ki 22:28)

Do we have such conviction in the word of our Lord? Do we have such faith to stand by the word of God, in the face of so many opposers of our belief? Do we recognise that we, too, are the prophets of God today, to convey the truth of God to the world? Will we be able to stand up to the pressure, the pressure to be like one of them?