This is just a small portion of the story contained in 2 Kings 1
King Ahaziah of Israel fell off the balcony on the roof of his palace in Samaria and was seriously injured. So he sent some messengers to consult Baalzebub, the god of the Philistine city of Ekron, in order to find out whether or not he would recover. But an angel of the Lord commanded Elijah, the prophet from Tishbe, to go and meet the messengers of King Ahaziah and ask them, “Why are you going to consult Baalzebub, the god of Ekron? Is it because you think there is no god in Israel? Tell the king that the Lord says, ‘You will not recover from your injuries; you will die!’” (versus 2-4) The angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him, and don’t be afraid.” So Elijah went with the officer to the king and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because you sent messengers to consult Baalzebub, the god of Ekron—as if there were no god in Israel to consult—you will not get well; you will die!’” Ahaziah died, as the Lord had said through Elijah. Ahaziah had no sons, so his brother Joram succeeded him as king in the second year of the reign of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. (versus 15-17)
King Ahaziah sought consult from a false god from a neighboring country, instead of seeking the true God of Israel. Elisha was told by an angel to go an meet the messengers and confront the king on this. After they told the king, he summoned Elisha and after a hundred men were destroyed trying to get him to come, the last set of men humbled themself before Elisha and the Lord told him to go with them. As a result of King Ahaziah actions, he died. How often do I seek the counsel of others or even Google before I seek answers from God? As a counselor and coach, people come to me for advice. If they are Christians, I want to know if they have sought the Lord first. I know that He can do more for them in a single instruction than I could do in years of counseling. In my own life, I have seen Him do this. I have seen Him walk me through simple processes that brought big transformation in my life. He has taught me counseling techniques that I was not trained in formally before I even knew they were a technique. I was just being obedient to Him.
When I have a client willing to do the spiritual work, I will always add the steps that the Lord walked me through. There is a spiritual truth found in Scripture, ways to seek the Lord more intentionally in healing and in the change the client is seeking or solution they are trying to find to a specific problem. I do not do research on my clients, so I can not quantify the significance of the change; I can only say that when they consistently implement what we discuss, the clients that add this spiritual piece tend to see faster results and bigger noticeable changes than those who just follow the therapeutic steps. I can acknowledge that Holy Spirit is the Great Counselor, I am just a tool He can operate through.
God does not want us seeking false Gods or worldly answers. He tells us to not have any other gods before Him. And to seek the Kingdom first. He does tell us to seek godly counsel, but in the case of King Ahaziah that would have been Elisha. What might have happened if he sought Elisha’s advise initially?
What would change in Your own life if you changed your focus to seek God in in every area before speaking to someone else looking for an answer or turning to the internet for what to do? I know for me, when I seek Him first the godly counsel and any other place I seek will provide confirmation to what He has already spoken. I have found He will confirm in many ways when I have questions, but have looked to Him first.
Comentarios