When seeking God for this year, He brought me to Isaiah 7 and the story of King Ahaz, the king of Judah. The context of these verses is that the King of Israel and the King of Syria had formed an alliance with each other for the sole purpose of destroying Judah and its people.
Now the house of David was told, “Aram has allied itself with Ephraim”; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.
Isaiah 7:2
During this holiday season we are reminded of the arrival of the ultimate gift any of us will ever receive. When Jesus paid the ultimate price for our redemption and freedom, it was a present with incomparable value..
On top of being able to go to Heaven, much of the New Testament teaches us about things that we now have access to; the gift of the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, total freedom, supernatural joy and strength, the list goes on and on. But it doesn’t stop there. Along with gifts, we have tremendous authority. To me this new life is kind of like the story of Rip Van Winkle. In the story, Rip decided to take a nap in the forest but he ended up sleeping for like 50 years. When he finally woke up the world as he knew it had completely changed.
The greatest example of humility is when we are falsely criticized by others and dismiss the need to vindicate ourselves. Although we are never to associate humility with weakness, we must come to the conclusion that genuine humility possesses real conviction. When we are truly humble we know how to steward our lives and our resources responsibly. This gives evidence that we can be trusted with the treasures of the Kingdom of God. We can disciple and influence Kings like the prophet Daniel. We become like our Lord Jesus who is the most approachable person the world has ever seen.
Love isn’t always blind it just imagines what could be there. For being in love with the Lord is the best way to live in the Kingdom of God. Love doesn’t seem to notice what others notice, it seems to ignore what others can’t ignore. What is never passed over socially, isn’t overlooked by the one who loves. Not to say that love overlooks justice, for love is the greatest act of justice. Love opens the eyes to intimacy and away from selfishness. Our vision becomes blurred when love is non existent, and love returns the heart back into focus. Love penetrates the defenses of rejection and the walls of criticism that have been built. When love becomes an acquisition instead of a lifestyle, it becomes perverted. So we pray with the words of this verse in Song of Solomon 1:4.
The moment we become overwhelmed by what the someone thinks, is when we can easily neglect the reality of the situation. In other words, our concern should be for truth even when the truth isn’t welcomed.
Ahab’s prophet’s were just echoes, to be an echo isn’t difficult since it requires no life of prayer nor connection with the Lord. Therefore, we must understand that echoes don’t have the word of the Lord. Partly because they were under the spell of Jezebel and had lost all sensitivity to the reality of the Lord’s presence. The lesson we must learn from this narrative in 1 Kings 22 is, we can’t counsel anyone who can seduce us and that political alliances can sometimes run deeper than obeying the voice of the Lord.
This post is for you if you have experienced any of the following:
You have received promises from God that have yet to be fulfilled
You keep receiving prophetic words but have yet to see them come to pass
You feel stuck and unsure if you are missing something when it comes to your destiny and purpose
If any of the above sounds familiar, keep reading because this may be a key to help you.
