1 King 22 - 2 King 1-2

"But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, ' first seek the counsel of the LORD.'

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.'

But Jehoshaphat asked, 'Is there not a prophet of the LORD here whom we can inquire of?'

The king of Israel answered Jehoshpat, '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 son of Imlah.'"

(Story recap) King Ahab, who did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, wanted to go to war against Aram to take back Ramoth Gilead, and he asked the king of Judah, Jehoshaphat, to join him. Ahab's heart was very much set on going to war, and he didn't want to hear anyone else tell him otherwise. (End recap)

As I was meditating on this passage, God reminded me of the song, "In the Potter's Hands", Helen sang last night at the meeting. "Take me, mold me, use me, fill me, I give my life to the Potter's hands. Hold me, guide me, lead me, walk beside me, I give my life to the Potter's hand." Are we set on our ways this day, or are we willing to let God mold us into who he wants us to be?

All of us are naturally like Ahab. We don't want to hear the truth about ourselves (or The Truth of God's word). We say we do, but we easily get defensive or offended when anyone else confronts us with things we don't want to hear. We are so set in our own ideas, attitudes, and beliefs. We all think we know what's best. And like Ahab, we often seek counsel of people who share our views and tell us what we want to hear. We reject the truth in order to live the way we want.

Let's humble ourselves before God and others ("others" is the hard part...) this day. Let's allow ourselves to be a clay to be molded by God. Jesus died so we can experience and live in complete freedom from all the ugliness and pride within us, and so he can live for us. Let us live in the good of this wonderful promise and truth:)