Micaiah Predicts Defeat
13 Then the messenger who went to summon Micaiah spoke to him saying, “Behold now, the words of the prophets are uniformly favorable to the king. Please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.” 14 But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, what the Lord says to me, that I shall speak.”
Have you ever been asked of the Lord to speak something difficult to another believer? Have you ever had another believer come and speak something difficult to you? I have been on both the receiving and speaking forth end of this call. My deliverance, especially in my younger years, was a bit abrupt and seemingly unkind. So, sometimes was my reception of hard things others have had to say to me. But as I have grown in the faith, I have come to learn how to “speak the truth in love,” as well as receive the truth in love. I have come a long way, but still have sooooo much further to grow in both these areas. They key to it all is spoken above by Micaiah. He as asked to speak favorably to the King. But Micaiah honored God above Men, even the King.
When I have been tempted to, “soften the blow,” so to speak, I have to ask God if that is from Him, or just my own desire to not have to deal with conflict. We all hate conflict, don’t we? I know I do. But God gives us so much instruction on how to share with others even difficult things. Hard things can be spoken as blessings, when spoken in kindness. Let’s see how Micaiah did it:
15 When he came to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?” And he answered him, “Go up and succeed, and the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.” 16 Then the king said to him, “How many times must I adjure you to speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” 17 So he said,
“I saw all Israel
Scattered on the mountains,
Like sheep which have no shepherd.
And the Lord said, ‘These have no master.
Let each of them return to his house in peace.’”
18 Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”
19 Micaiah said, “Therefore, hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left. 20 The Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said this while another said that. 21 Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will entice him.’ 22 The Lord said to him, ‘How?’ And he said, ‘I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ Then He said, ‘You are to entice him and also prevail. Go and do so.’ 23 Now therefore, behold, the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; and the Lord has proclaimed disaster against you.”
Even the evil King could tell that Micaiah was not speaking the truth the first time, so he inquired again. Micaiah, then spoke of all he saw, the whole truth, leaving nothing out. Sometimes that is what we must do. It won’t bring us the favor of people, often it will bring us their scorn. But we must never refrain from speaking what God has told us to speak, letting the chips fall where they may. But God exhorts us to always, always, always speak it in love. The Apostle Paul often had to speak hard truths to the churches. But there is one thing he always did in these cases. He always spoke of all that the church was doing well before he had to bring the correction God had given him for them. I have carried this truth so tenderly in my heart, and I try to always be humbly open to what God would say to me through others. Love doesn’t always make it easy for those who are loved. God loves us too much to leave us in the state in which He found us. He gently guides us in the way, and sometimes, a shove or a push from another believer is just what God uses to bring us along in our growth. So let us love one another deeply, from His heart, and speak the truth in love, whenever He specifically calls us to.
Often times we speak our truth, not His, so through prayer, make sure that what you are speaking is not your own opinion, or some sarcastic response to something that you just may not like. Always pray before speaking to another believer to make sure that what you speak is of the Lord. I say this strongest to myself. I, above all, need more growth and learning in this area. Please pray for me. Well, that’s what God put on my heart this morning to share. Hope it encouraged you and blessed you. Have a great day in Him
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