The Importance Of Seeking God[ly] Counsel: Courtesy Of King Ahab and Jehoshaphat

Welcome back to another article and if you are new here: welcome. As you might have noticed, my themes and articles lately have been revolving around the Bible and God and I know some of y’all are like ugh… not again *insert eyeroll* And I know not everybody is as deep into spirituality as I am, doing the Baptist feet, catching the Holy Ghost and shouting during sermon shaaando! With your hands held high. Aiight… I get it. But this is the authentic me. And if I have to be authentic, you’ll also (on some occasions) be acquainted with that preachy, black lil' mama who gon’ spit Bible bars and keep you woke (or wake you up) on some very important Biblical and spiritual truths. Now let me put out that disclaimer: I AM NOT A PREACHER. I am sharing with you the things that jump at me when I am reading my Bible and spending time in God’s presence that have me like “oooh… my my my” *shakes head and lift hand in the air* (okay.. I’m done now)

So today we’ll look at the story of King Ahab in 1 kings chapter 22:1-39 and use it as the foundation of today’s topic: The importance of seeking God[ly] counsel.
So as usual, I’ll give you a little background story from the NLT (New Living Translation) Bible version and we’ll dibble-dabble a little into the BLT (if you ain’t familiar with this acronym, it stands for the Black Living Translation version. Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of it before, you gon’ learn today what it is)

So at the time the story is taking place, Ahab is king of Israel and for three years he had been in a cease-fire between Aram and Israel. However in the 3rd year, Jehoshaphat (king of Judah) came to visit Ahab. Prior to his visit, Ahab had told his minister: “y’all… can you believe that Ramoth is ours and we haven’t done anything to take it back from Aram?” So when Jehoshaphat showed up, he asked him to come and fight Aram with him and he was like: “say. No. more. Fam! I got you.” they bumped fist and all that (this is all part of the BLT y’all. Don’t go looking for that in your Bible. You’ll find the story but not like that) And after doing all that agreement and fist bumping, Jehoshaphat added this : “But first let’s find out what the Lord says.” (1 kings 22: 5)

Ahab called the prophets (about 400 of them) and asked them if he should go to war to against Ramoth or just lay low and they all agreed and said: “sure! God will give it to you”
But then look at what Jehoshaphat said: “Is there not also a prophet of the Lord here? We should ask him the same question”. Now let’s stop here for a minute: the fact that Jehoshaphat asked that question suggest that: a) he was feeling off about the fact that all the prophets would agree unanimously to let Ahab go to war or b) those prophets were not of the Lord (woooozaaaah. Let that one sink for a second). So Ahab said: “There is one more man who could consult the Lord for us, but I hate him. He never prophesies anything but trouble for me! His name is Micaiah son of Imlah” (verse 8) and to that Jehoshaphat responded : “This is not the way a king should talk! Let’s hear what he has to say” (verse 9). So they went to fetch for Micaiah but once the emissary got to his house he said : “yo man… all of your colleagues agreed to say the same thing: that the king will be victorious. So you better side with them too” (aka “better watch yo' mouth boy!” that’s the BLT version by the way.. Just in case you're wondering). But look at what Micaiah said : “As surely as the Lord lives, I will say only what the Lord tells me to say” (verse 14).

So they went back and then Ahab asked his question again: “Micaiah, should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should we hold back?” and Micaiah responded “Yes, go up and be victorious, for the Lord will give the king victory!” (he was being sarcastic of course... Have a feeling me and him might be related). But then Ahab was like: “boy... how many times do I have to beg you to tell the truth?!” And this is what Micaiah said: “In a vision I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘Their master has been killed. Send them home in peace” then he proceeded to explain how he saw God in a vision asking in the multitudes surrounding Him, who would inspire Ahab to go to war and thus go to his death and a spirit of false prophecy came forward be like “ I got you! I’ll do that and inspire all the prophets to tell lies” and God was like “very well then! Do that”. But one of the prophets got into bunches and slapped Micaiah *bam* (just like that, in his whole face) and was like : “since when the spirit of the Lord left me to speak to you?” and Micaiah was like : “you’ll figure it out soon enough… when you’ll be running for your life and hiding” (BLT version y’all stick with me) and them Ahab said “LOCK HIM UP UNTIL I COME BACK!” but then Micaiah was like : “tuh… if you come back then the Lord has not spoken!”. Long story short: Jehoshaphat and Ahab went to war, Jehoshaphat almost died for being mistaken for Ahab because he was wearing his clothes (this will be a topic for another article) but he didn’t however, Ahab was randomly hit by an arrow and because the war was violently raging, he couldn’t be evacuated from the battlefield. He died in the evening just as Micaiah prophesied.

So now you’re like… okay gurl… what are we supposed to get away from that story? Well… here are the takeaways that I got from meditating on that story on why it is important to seek God[ly] counsel:


A- They will tell you the truth (1 kings 22: 14)

People who are not led by God will tell you what they feel or what you want to hear and rarely the truth. That's what all of the prophets did except for Micaiah! See, Ahab was irritated about Micaiah because he was saying bad things but then begged him for the truth. The truth will not always be pretty to hear, it won’t be what you want to hear but it will be what you need to hear. And most importantly the truth will set you free. Free from bondage, from sin, from anything that might lead you to a captivity you might (or might not) come back from. God[ly] counsel will bring you what you need, what your spirit and your soul need. I know my best friends don’t tell me what I want to hear. As prayerful as I am, I get blindsided sometimes and those ladies are the mirrors that God placed into my life and that I cannot run away from. They will tell me the truth and not sugarcoat it because they know the truth, they know the Word of God and they know God but most importantly because they love me. If your friends agree with you ALL THE TIME, then ask yourself: “are they really my friends?” and if you are a christian ask yourself : “is the advice they are giving me in alignment with what the world of God says? Is it in agreement with the will and purpose of God for me and my life? Will these advices bring something positive into my life or will it lead me to chaos, tears, heartaches and headaches?” No judgment. No heat. Just a few questions to evaluate the quality of your circle because who you are around can make or break you and your destiny.


B- Your life might depend on it

You get the full picture from that story and I don’t think I need to say more. Had Ahab listen to his God[ly] counsel perhaps his end would had been different. But there is not certitude to it as the Bible said in verse 23 : “So you see, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all your prophets. For the Lord has pronounced your doom”. Who is in your counsel? Who are they getting their counsel from? Next time you run to them for advice and counsel, ask yourself that question first (I say you but really I'm in that one too). Not judging, just helping


C- It will prevent you from getting into situation that might cost you

Although I admire Jehoshaphat for his wisdom when it came to consulting the Lord before going to war, I was distraught by the fact that he did not consult God before getting into association with Ahab. This is what the Bible says about Jehoshaphat in 2 chronicles 17:3 : “The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father’s early years and did not worship the images of Baal”. However, it was a different story for Ahab: the Bible says in 1 Kings 16: 30 that “ Ahab son of Omri did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, even more than any of the kings before him. And as though it were not enough to follow the sinful example of Jeroboam, he married Jezebel, the daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians, and he began to bow down in worship of Baal.” So my first question when comparing those two people was : why even associate yourself with someone like that and agree to go to war with him?! The Bible says that before choosing his disciples Jesus prayed. He sought God’s counsel to choose who He was supposed to be surrounded with (sidenote: People could argue that Jesus chose wrong because He picked Juda Iscariot who would betray Him later but! it was part of God’s divine set up. It is the perfect representation of what Roman 8:28 means: this had to happen so that the prophecies about Jesus could be accomplished and humanity could receive salvation). But, because Jehoshaphat FAILED to consult God before getting in association with a man that stood before God as an abomination, he almost lost his life. What happened to Jehoshaphat was grace. It could be that God saved his life because at some point, his heart was straight and he was walking in the commands of the Lord? Can't tell for sure. How many of us pray to seek the will of God regarding the people that walk into our lives? Just because they walk in doesn’t mean God sent them. They are there for a purpose, true, but whose purpose? God or the devil? Had Jehoshaphat consulted God in the first place, he would have probably not agreed to Ahab proposal and perhaps not found himself in a situation that could have cost him his life. So next time someone steps into our life, maybe we should pray about it, seek God’s will and wonder if the presence of that person in our life has been orchestrated by God. And if you are genuine about that, God will speak to you. Maybe not directly but He will: through that person’s character, through signs, through what the people around you think of that particular person. God will give you conviction about whether or not that person has been divinely sent and positioned into your life but you have to pay attention! Don’t dismiss the response to your prayer the way Ahab and Jehoshaphat did. If you ask and you get a response, don’t walk or act like you don’t know when you do know. Act and walk based on what the Lord has told you and showed you.


That's all for today y'all. Hope it was fun to read and entertaining but most importantly, I hope it gave you a new perspective on why seeking God[ly] counsel is important.

Until next time,

The Happiness Fairy 👸

Less Is More: A lesson by King David

Hello and welcome back to the blog. If you are new : welcome to the tribe. A new article but still bouncing back on the topic of feeling inadequate, this time looking at another angle. And for that angle I have chose to go to my favorite book: the Bible. *exciting*

So there was that guy in the Bible named David who obviously was so inadequate that when Samuel came into his father’s house on the order of God to anoint the new king of Israel, He was omitted. His father had thought of all of his sons except him and even Samuel upon seeing Eliab in as mentioned in 1 Samuel 16: 6 thought "Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord". But God had his eyes and heart set on someone else, he had chosen someone that was deemed inadequate by men because there was a mission God needed him for, that only him could adequately complete. So then when Samuel and Jesse (David’s father) ran out of “adequate” people for the position of king, Samuel was like… "so… that’s it?" (this is the BLT version... Black Living Translation version, we will go back to that version many times during the course of this article. I play too much😩😂) And his dad was like… well… I got another boy but eh… he’s watching over the sheep  (which in the BLT version means "he’s good at nothing so I just put him there. He might as well do that you know…") and Samuel said "aiight go get him". So someone went to get him now look at what the Bible say about him in in verse 12: "He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features." as soon as Samuel saw David, God said "That him" (major Key that I will discuss in another article). Samuel anointed him and after he was done, went back to his house. Fast forward to 1 Samuel 17, that will be the focus of the article (well the last two parts). Here is the background story: the Philistines had come to fight the army of Israel. Amongst the philistines soldiers, there was a guy named Goliath which it is said was "a Philistine champion from Gath.[...] He was over nine feet tall! He wore a bronze helmet, and his bronze coat of mail weighed 125 pounds. He also wore bronze leg armor, and he carried a bronze javelin on his shoulder. The shaft of his spear was as heavy and thick as a weaver’s beam, tipped with an iron spearhead that weighed 15 pounds. His armor bearer walked ahead of him carrying a shield." In one word: he is the definition of what Hulk would look like in real life and he was not there to play games y'all: he was there to smash! The Bible says for 40 days, morning and evening, he would dare the Israelites to pick a man to fight him but none of them would come forward because all were afraid and feeling inadequate to fight him (even though we can all agree they had been trained to fight and had the skills going to war required).


So one day, David’s father sent him to bring food to his brothers who were in the army and fighting alongside Saul and check on them so David is like... "Aiight dad. cool" David goes and just as he gets into the camp, Goliath is starting his "I double dare you" game *insert eyeroll*. The Israelites ran for cover and as they did, some ran into David and gave him a debrief of the current situation (1samuel 17:25) : “Have you seen the giant?” the men asked. “He comes out each day to defy Israel. The king has offered a huge reward to anyone who kills him. He will give that man one of his daughters for a wife, and the man’s entire family will be exempted from paying taxes!” David asked a couple more questions to people who gave him the same answer and in the middle of his enquiries, he was heard by his oldest brother. Of course he was like “why are you here? Ain’t you supposed to be watching over your sheep? (stands for: “you got nothing to do here. Go back to your lame place and leave us the important people do our thing”) I know how you are: just trying to be nosey ain’t you?”
David was like “Dude… I was just asking a question” *insert shoulders shrug *
He paid no mind and kept asking the same question over and over until his interest was mentioned to Saul, who fetched for him. As soon as David got to the King he was like “fam, I got you. I’m going to fight him” and here is what the Bible (for real now) said the response of Saul was: “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth” (1 Sam 17: 33; NLT)

David then went to explain how the Lord had been with him when watching over his father’s sheep and how he had fought and defeated wild animal with bare hands. So Saul was like “ aiight.” He gave David his warfare equipment and after David tried it on, He said : “I can’t go in these. I’m not used to them” (in the words of the BLT : “nope. Can’t wear this. Not my style"). So he got rid of everything, and pick only the weapons he knew best: his slingshot, his stones and his staff.
David went to Goliath who, offended by the simplicity of his war equipment, cursed him by his gods. To that David replied: “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand” (1 Sam 17: 45-47). Goliath started moving toward David, but that kid knew how to run and before Goliath could reach him, David got a stone into his bag, slung it and struck Goliath on his forehead: he fell face down on the ground, dead.

Here are the big lessons of the stories that stuck with me and that I would like to share:

A- You might feel inadequate but God knows why he put you there

As a king you lead the army to battle. You lead by example. The Bible says that Saul was discouraged by the words of Goliath and so were his people. Him as well as his soldiers were trained and had the experience to fight battle but on that day, it was the man that people had deemed inadequate that showed up to lead Israel into victory. David had been anointed for that day. God had purposefully sent David on that particular day to the came because he had already chose him for that mission. God put you where you are for a mission: there will be a time where you and only you will be able to provide something that will be lacking into your environment and that people will desperately need. Stay where you are and wait for God to orchestrate the biggest breakthrough that will lead you into your divine destiny and purpose.

B- Less is more

Allow me to quickly let you into something: before 2017 ended, I was strongly feeling that I had too much going on: I was trying to do everything, be everything, have everything and take on everything. And then while I was praying and seeking God for 2018, I started strongly leaning toward the fact that less was more and so I decided to drop things, people, emotions and even advices/borrowed experiences that were weighing me down and preventing me to stride into my purpose, my greatness and God’s plans for me. David did the same thing: Saul gave him HIS equipment to go fight but David wasn’t used to it. David had fought before, but not the way Saul had: Saul had been doing it for the longest time and David was debuting and so, by lending him his equipment, Saul thought he was doing good when really he was making matter worse. Isn’t what the people around us do when we have to fight Goliath for the first time in out life (whatever Goliath represent)? They give us all kind of equipment and advices justifying it with : “trust me I’ve been there before and I have used this/ done this/ said this. It worked out perfectly” but just because it worked for them doesn’t mean it will work for us. I used to be one of those people too, until the day I figured that we are all walking different paths and even though our Goliaths look alike, there are variations to them and we are at different levels in our warfare training/ experience. So I stopped telling people what to do and I have encouraged them to find what worked for them. Not only that but less is more because when you have less, God can get the spotlight because people can clearly see that you don’t have what it takes to take Goliath down and when they will ask in bewilderment, you can say that you are ordinary but you have the name of an extraordinary God stamped all over you and your life. Had David chosen to wear all that unnecessary equipment he was not used to, he would have had to sustain it on his own and spend a great deal of energy, but because he trusted in God (Prov 3:5-6), He in turn gave David an outstanding and effortless victory. Who you are is enough and definitely God is more than enough and all you need to win all your battle.


C- Any battle involves a spiritual aspect

The biggest lie of the enemy in this century is to make people believe that what they are going through in everyday life is just what the eyes can see. But what we see in the physical realm is governed by what happen in the supernatural. Before the battle started, Goliath cursed David by his gods but David made a proclamation that also involved God. we see clearly that they both represented two distinct sides spiritually and before the fight even started in the physical world there had already been a battle of the Gods. The tone and issue of the battle had already been set spiritually. Don’t be fooled: spiritual warfare is real and we have been given weapons (Eph 6:12) to triumph spiritually first according to 2 Co 10: 3- 4 : " For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds". The best summary of this point is definitely the movie The war room (go watch it you will thank me later)

This is a bit of a lengthy article but I hope that it will help, encourage and build someone.

Until next time,
The Happiness Fairy 👸