Don't Be A Hater

"And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might enquire of him?" (1 Kings 22:7)

God uses prophets. In 1 Kings 22 there is a question about who is a real prophet of the Lord, who knows the truth. But, that is only Jehoshaphat's, king of Judah, question. Jehoshaphat and Ahab are about to do battle with Syria together, against that same king that Ahab let go free, and the king of Judah wants prophetic confirmation before they do anything. So Ahab calls all his prophets, who appear to speak in the name of the Lord, but, as Jehoshaphat right discerns, are not real prophets and asks for a prophet of the God of Israel. Why? He wants to know the truth. But, Ahab is looking for something else from his prophets:

"There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil." (1 Kings 22:8)

Wow, hate, that's a strong word, but I think Ahab means it. Why are the ancient prophets killed, hunted, persecuted? Because they spoke the truth, and truth can be "hard" to the guilty, "more than we are able to bear" (1 Nephi 16:1). I get that. We are imperfect. It's hard to be living your life then have someone come and tell you that God wants you to change, or rebukes and chastises, telling you that the things you like are bad and shouldn't really like them. Change is hard. And, we don't like to think bad of ourselves or our behavior. So yes, sometimes we hate the truth, because it's trying to change our carefully constructed reality.

All the time in Japan, when I was on my mission, I would ask the question: what if there was a God, and He is who we say He is? Honestly, most said that it wouldn't matter to them. I asked: what if there was a way you could find out that God exists? And they would say that they didn't want to know. Because then they would have to change, and change is hard. I'm not saying that it's easy. And I'm not saying that Ahab is being anything else than being extremely human.

But maybe we should expect more of ourselves. Maybe we should expect more of our lives. Ahab ignored the prophets, and was killed, his blood licked up by dogs. But, his life could have been so much more. Yes, the prophets speak hard words, but let us not hate the truth. The truth can set us free from the chains of this world, can enlighten us to higher awareness and connection, can free us with confidence of strength over the seemingly strong things of this world.

I guess that what I'm trying to say, to myself as well, is don't hide from knowledge. Knowledge, when applied, is power. And, God wants to make us powerful. I have heard, so many times, even members in the church say that they don't want to see angels or have visions, because they don't want the responsibility. I get that, responsibility is hard. But with it comes strength.

"Just give it up. Surrender your will to Him. Unconditionally. Withhold nothing. Turn it all over to Him; all of your desires, wishes, dreams and hopes. Be true and faithful in your head and in your heart, not just in your behavior. Trust in Him. Trust Him who knows all things. Trust Him who has all power. Trust Him whose love for you is perfect. Trust Him, who alone suffered, paid and atoned for your sins, and for your weaknesses as well. Trust Him that He will make of you, immeasurably more, than what you will ever, ever, in all eternity, make of yourself. He will create of you a masterpiece. You will create of you only a smudge. You will create an ordinary man. He will create a God."~'The 4th Missionary' by Lawrence E. Corbridge