pramsay posted on March 20, 2007 04:56 1032 views
Disguising Yourself?
The Arrow Will Find You!

Four hundred say: “Yes – don’t be a chicken. Go for it. You won’t be a loser.”

But one says:If you proceed, you’ll be sorry. You won’t get away with it.”

You say: “But I like what the 400 are saying; I only wish there were no dissenting voices. Even one person telling me ‘no’ is scary. Or that I’m treading on very dangerous ground and that I’ll go down to defeat… Well, I just wish I didn’t have to hear that one voice. It is unsettling.”

Have you ever had such a struggle inside? “I want to and my friends say ‘go for it’ but one Christian cautioned me against it.” or “Something deep inside keeps putting on the brakes; I wish I could ignore it and just go ahead with my plans.”

King Ahab of Israel was doing some joint war-planning with King Jehoshaphat of Judah. 400 false prophets, the cronies of Ahab had just told him what he wanted to hear. “Go for it, Oh King. God is with you. Hold nothing back – its full steam ahead and you will crush the Syrians. You will be the big winner!”

But King Jehoshaphat seemed to have a degree of spiritual discernment and he said he would feel more comfortable if he could get some advice from even one prophet of the Lord. King Ahab’s face probably crumpled into a deep frown. “I don’t like him. He always tells me bad things will happen to me.” But Ahab reluctantly agrees to have Micaiah summoned to stand before them.

Ahab’s close associates try to rig it by pressuring Micaiah into saying only what their King wants to hear. The prophet of God responded respectfully: “As the Lord liveth, even what my God saith, that will I speak.” Micaiah goes on to tell the King that it is ‘bad news’ for him if he proceeds with the war against the Syrians. Wham! Ahab’s man whacked Micaiah on the face and the prophet was thrown into prison.

Ahab ignored the advice from Micaiah and went to war – but he was nervous. He turns to King Jehoshaphat and says:

“I will disguise myself,
and will go to the battle; but put thou on thy robes.”

(2 Chronicles 18:28)

For a while, it looked like it was working. The enemy focused on Jehoshaphat – not Ahab. But then a “certain man drew a bow at a venture…” and that old arrow whizzed through the air like a hi-tech satellite-guided-missile and sunk into a narrow little space in the joints of Ahab’s armor. Amazing, incredible precision! Ahab died later that day.

Did you ever go against your conscience and what you know to be right and what others told you was right? Perhaps even now you are thinking about proceeding anyway, thinking you will be able to cover your tracks or disguise yourself and get away with it? Years ago a televangelist disguised himself. He wrapped a headband around his head and put on sun glasses, picked up a woman on the street, went to a run down motel and … the arrow. Amazing precision. Caught. Disgraced. Shipwrecked.

Dear child of God, even if there are 400 voices screaming in your head to go for it and that nothing will happen or you won’t get caught and others do it or just this once- a first and last time … even if you are feeling an overwhelming urge to do it – but there is one spiritual voice of reason saying loudly in your ear or even whispering in your heart: “Don’t!” – then with the Lord’s help, “Don’t!” Because remember the arrow can find us no matter how well we disguise ourselves.

As we go about our activities today may the over-riding factor in our choices be: ‘pleasing our blessed Lord Jesus Christ.

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