Key Verse: 1 Kings 21:4
So Ahab went into his house sullen and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no food.

A big baby, a spoiled brat always used to having his own way, a sulker, etc…these are names that come to mind to describe Ahab. He tried to get his own way by manipulating other people. Then there was his wife, Jezebel. She was the daughter of a neighbouring king and probably had seen her father get his way by exercising raw power. It becomes a “do it my way or else” approach to challenges. Both approaches are caution signs, warning “immature people ahead!”
God has provided a way out for both the victim of such childishness and for the one who succumbs to such “poor me” efforts to manipulate others. Repent of such attitudes and actions. Refuse to be an enabler of such actions. Ahab would not have bothered to sulk unless he knew that by so doing Jezebel would feel sorry for him and spring into action.
Ahab tried to turn his life around by going through acts showing repentance, and God’s judgment was postponed for a time. However, the prophet’s predictions would eventually come to pass.
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord God, I pray that I will not succumb to the fleshly impulse to sulk and pout over my circumstances. May I mature into Jesus’ faithful follower. And please Father, when I “grow up,” I want to be like Your Son, Jesus. In His Name I ask for Your help, Amen!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:
I remember saying several times to my students when I was a public school teacher, “Grow up!” A chapter title in my most recent book (This Far By Faith) is “From Mess to Maturity, a Work in Process.” GROW UP! I remember the Apostle Paul wrote something about this. He tells us to be no longer children, manipulated by trickery, craftiness, and outright deception. I’ve just read for a New Testament reading, Ephesians 4:11-16. Words such as “equipping – edifying – perfect (complete) – stature – fullness” cause me to do spiritual stretching exercises.

When my children were little and they would pout, I kept a mirror handy so I could show them their facial expression. It’s really hard to retain a snit when you look in a mirror. That screwed-up face would soon become a smile and then lots of laughter. It has been said, “Laughter is the best medicine,” and I would add that laughing at one’s self is, without a doubt, the very best kind of laughter. Need a good laugh? I have a suggestion. Go to the mirror now and make the face you used to make as a child when you were really feeling sorry for yourself because of real or imagined hurt feelings. I’ve just done that. What a good laugh!

Yours for continuing to “grow up,”

David