“Now a prophet visited King Ahab of Israel and said, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Do you see this huge army? Look, I am going to hand it over to you this very day. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” (1 Kings 20: 13)
When you care about a character in a story, you will begin to root for him or her. Then you will also begin to dislike, even loathe, his or her archenemy. In 1 King, a prophet named Elijah was so sensational that his character really captivated me. I could feel my emotion going through the ups and downs with him, both in his triumph and despair. On the other hand, my disdain for his archenemy, King Ahab, only grew stronger.
Then in chapter 20, I was stuck with verse 13. Something didn’t add up. I had a hard time accepting the fact that God would send a prophet to help King Ahab. HELPING KING AHAB!? Why would God help someone like him, a weak-minded, blame-shifting, idolatrous man? He deserved nothing good!
It bothered me. It really did. God’s helping a bad guy just doesn’t exist in my book.
This is when the truth really hit home.
The truth is, God will do what He chooses to do, and it doesn’t matter WHAT WE THINK.
Here I was, huffing and puffing over this crazy, evil king, while wearing a robe of self-righteousness. I had forgotten where I came from, and how spiritually bankrupt I was at one point. If God did not do what He chose to do concerning me, I really don’t know where I would be today. He chose to redeem me from sin. He didn’t care what anyone else thinks.
This is heavy. Yet, it is also incredibly freeing.
When God blesses someone underserving, instead of sulking, I can lift my hands to praise Him. God, you do as you please, and you’ve done it for me first!