Doing what is right

I was reading in my devotion time this morning from 1 Kings 22 and I wanted to share with everyone a few things I got from this story. It is a story of a man who does what is right even when it is not popular. Here you have a story of two kings wanting to go to war because one feels a neighboring country belongs to him. Jehoshaphat king of Judah is very smart in saying, "We should inquire of God before we go to battle." The problem was the prophets that were chosen to speak for the Lord were prophets who didn't listen to God but listened to man. They wanted to make the kings happy. They gave a favorable report to the kings that if they went to war they would surely win. Thankfully there was one prophet who didn't listen to people but God. His name was Micaiah. Micaiah had a reputation of not always listening to people. Ahab didn't even want him called upon because he knew of this. I love what Micaiah says in verse fourteen, "As the Lord lives, what the Lord says to me that I will speak." Micaiah was not concerned about what others thought. He was more concerned about what God thought. Micaiah spoke God's Word even though it was very unpopular.

There are times in life in ministry where I must speak what is unpopular. Whether that is speaking against sin or standing up for things I know that are unpopular. What is important is, is that I hear from God. I cannot be a people pleaser in my life. My tendency is to want to make everyone happy. Reality is, this is impossible. The same can be said for all of us. We must all realize that God's Word always comes first in our lives. Don't always listen to people's opinion or do what everyone else is doing. This can sometimes be unpopular with your family, co-workers and friends. But we must remember that God will bless when we do what He says.