“And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house.” I Kings 21:28-29
One of the blessings of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives is that He functions as a moral warning system in our hearts. It’s good to have someone who cares enough about us to tell us the hard truth and keep us in bounds in this life. The Holy Spirit will do just that. He will let us know when we are heading into self-inflicted trouble and will try to steer us away from that danger ahead. He will bring conviction, and while that usually isn’t comfortable in the moment, if it brings repentance, that conviction will save us from a world of future hurt.
Case in point, not too long ago I was reading I Kings 21 about the Israelite king, Ahab. The Bible states that “…there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.” (I Kings 21:25)
Ahab was a horrible human. I mean, the Bible states there was no one living as bad as him. That’s not the testimony you want written about you in God’s record! It was though, but that wasn’t the end of his story. The Bible tells us that the prophet Elijah went to Ahab and confronted him about his wickedness and told him what would happen to him if he did not change.
Do you know what happened next? “And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.” (I Kings 21:27)
God’s response to Ahab’s humility? Verses 28 and 29 we’ve previously quoted!
Think about that for a few moments. The Bible declares that Ahab was as wicked as they come, but his humble response to God’s Word, to God’s sentence of judgment, moved God. It allowed God to forgo that punishment, even for someone who deserved it as much as Ahab did.
Friends, God loves the humble soul; it allows Him to show the mercy and grace He always desires for us in the first place. Remember the heart of God revealed in James 4:6? God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble!
Brothers and sisters, repentance (something not just for the sinner but for the saint as well) can and will free us from the trap Satan sets for us. Repentance is the key to not reaping what we have sown. We will all need to repent (change) to better align ourselves with God’s ways at some time in our lives. It’s such a valuable tool in accomplishing God’s work as we grow in a relationship with Him.
Here’s the thing though: we will never be able to repent, never even have the desire to, unless we yield our hearts to the humility that is inside of us due to our recreation in Christ Jesus. So many Christians today are stuck in their ways and in a snare of Satan because they are too prideful (think stubborn). Humility is the character trait of the heart that prompts us to repent, and there can be no true repentance without it behind the scenes working in our hearts.
Examples? The believers in the Church of Corinth (II Corinthians 7:8-10) and King Hezekiah come to mind (Isaiah 38:1-6). They messed up royally but also had the humility of heart to change when confronted with their sin.
God’s response? Forgiveness and mercy, which warded off impending destruction.
Friends, if we will keep a humble heart, God can extend His mercy to us as well, even when we mess up royally.
So, what can we learn from the worst of people like Ahab? The best about God! When the Lord brings our wrongs to our attention, we can react in two ways: with humility of heart or in pride. There is an end result of both responses. I think I’ll choose humility and God’s response of forgiveness and mercy!
Greg Crum is the pastor of Calvary Temple in Lovely.