Who Ya Gonna Listen To?

Every so often, you read something in the Bible that sort of puts the fear of God into you. Especially when you read it because it relates to something that is going on in your life.

In this case, I’m talking about a story in the book of Kings, about a man of God who went to Bethel to speak against the altar there. Obviously, this man heard from God. He said that there would be a sign (the altar would split in half) and that sign took place while he stood there. When the king’s hand dried up, and he asked this fellow to entreat the Lord to heal his hand, the man did so, and the Lord healed his hand.

No doubt about it, this was not some novice, who didn’t know how to hear from the Lord. This man knew when God was talking to him.

So the king said, come and eat dinner with me. And the man replied that the Lord had particularly told him to neither eat nor drink nor go home the same way he came. Okay, fair enough. After what we’ve seen, we’ll take your word for it.

Then an old prophet heard of what had happened, and rode off after the man, and told him that an angel had said that he should come back and eat dinner with him. So the man did. And after dinner, as he rode home, a lion came and killed him.

I hadn’t read that story in years, until this morning. I read it this morning because it came to mind last night, as I was asking the Lord to help me deal with the doubts flying around.

The Lord had given me total peace about a particular circumstance and the way I was handling it. Not just peace, either, but joy. I was happy. Until someone that I respected showed disapproval.

The Lord has grown me enough that I didn’t back down, or get into a lot of turmoil, but still, I had an internal unsettled feeling, which I didn’t like at all. So, help, Lord. Settle me.

Do I ever have a disapproving reaction to what someone else is doing? Oh, you bet I do. Is it a "thus saith the Lord" reaction? Uhm, maybe once in a hundred. Most of the time that sudden reaction is merely Charissa on the loose. And when I recognize that, I sincerely hope that I wasn’t able to influence the other party!

If I do that sometimes, is there any reason that I should expect that others would not do that? If my reaction often isn’t right, why should I think that other people always have correct responses to what I do? That, folks, is downright foolish.

In the story, the old prophet lied. There was no angel that spoke to him.

Here I am, living my life. On the one hand, inexplicable peace. On the other, your disapproval.

Who am I going to listen to?

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