1 Kings 22:8: “So [Ahab] the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat [the king of Judah], ‘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!'”

July 25th, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Ahab’s statement was as ironic then as it is today. It is like saying, “Yeah, we’ve got a prophet of God here, but we never use him because he always tells us bad stuff.” Jehoshaphat was shocked and couldn’t believe Ahab’s answer to his question of whether or not there was still a prophet of the Lord they could inquire of. Was it strange that he wanted to hear from this prophet, no matter what he said, as long as it was from God?

Have you noticed that the enemy tries to keep us from church and fellowship for the same reasons? Many of stay away from church because we don’t like conviction. Or we hear only the part of a message that agrees with our point of view, and we discard anything that doesn’t agree with us. God’s truth isn’t always pleasant to hear nor is it always easy to swallow and do. But, like a bad tasting medicine that helps us to heal, if the truth of God is heard and obeyed, it brings healing.

One of the saddest parts of this whole story is that Jehoshaphat was also fooled and became an unwitting part of Ahab’s disobedience. Someone said this story could be called, “How to Lose Friends and Influence People.” That is the problem with sin, it is never done in a vacuum. My sin always affects the other people around me, and it continues to have an impact long after it was first committed. Conviction of sin is a gift from God that should not be avoided or run from, but rather run toward and embraced. Conviction of sin reminds us that God is not done with us yet, and that we need to quickly admit our guilt, ask for forgiveness, and then turn around and head the other way.

“Thank You, LORD, for Your gift of conviction!”