Whenever I'm feeling down and it seems like all is lost, I like to remember the story of Micaiah.
You might already know the story as it's in the Bible. But it's easy to pass right by since it's buried in the middle of all those sexy cool stories about Elijah. You've heard of Elijah. That's because Elijah lived.
Micaiah was also a prophet of the Lord and served in Israel. In those days there were actually two countries of Jewish people: Israel was the original, but several generations prior two of the tribes rebelled and formed Judah. Eventually both nations turned from God and so they were conquered. As the larger and more advanced of the two, Israel turned from God first. At the time of Micaiah's career, Ahab was their king and he still regularly tops the list of "worst Israelite leaders." Ahab was known for his general horribleness and that fact that, to put it mildly, he did not wear the pants in the family. That honor went to his wife Jezebel, a murderer and idolater that for some reason is now a role model for ladies who say "you go girl" without a hint of irony. King Ahab did not like Micaiah because Micaiah spoke the words of the Lord, which were generally negative performance reviews.
Now King Ahab wanted to go to war against Aram for some reason involving land acquisition. So he went to the king of Judah, Jehoshaphat, to ask for assistance. "Sounds interesting," Jehoshaphat probably said, "but you should first seek the counsel of the Lord." Jehoshaphat was a good king. Be like Jehoshaphat.
So the two of them went to Ahab's court, and Ahab paraded by his four hundred (!) prophets - paid yes-men - to discern the will of God. They all prophesied the king's victory, of course. Jehoshaphat rolled his eyes and said "No really, let's hear from a real prophet of the Lord" (translation unknown).
"There's one," Ahab said, "but I hate him and his stupid face. He only says bad things about me."
Enter Micaiah. The prophet had already been warned what to say, and knew very well the danger of following the Lord. "Micaiah," said the king Ahab in the presence of Jehoshaphat and the other prophets, "should we go to war against the Arameans?"
"Sure, whatever, I don't care," Micaiah replied.
This made the king angry. "Dammit I told you a million times never to lie to me."
"Fine," Micaiah replied. "The Lord is not with you. If you go to war you will die. Your prophets have been enticed by evil spirits to draw you out to battle where you will be killed."
Ahab smugly looked at Jehoshaphat. "I told you he only prophesies bad things about me."
And then the king ordered that Micaiah be put in prison and be given nothing but bread and water until the day he returned safely from battle. That's the last we hear of Micaiah. By the way, Ahab dies at the battle, just as the Lord said.
Maybe it's not surprising this story is skipped over in Sunday School. We're told tales of Moses and Elijah, the great prophets who did wonders for Israel. But there were many others like Micaiah who followed the Lord and obeyed His every command and were rewarded with death. And not the pretty kind of death either. We also love stories of the martyrs like Stephen who went out with a bang, whose deaths meant something for the advancement of the kingdom of God. We don't like stories of the prophetes who were killed for no reason. Micaiah died in prison. The Lord did not come and rescue him as a reward for faithful service.
This story is not attractive. We already know about the prosperity gospel, the wares peddled by the likes of Joel Osteen and others. These men entice you into Christianity by promising material possessions and a stress-free life. But even more realistically minded preachers will try to entice you with equally wrong ideas - the idea that either God will reward you or he will provide you with the martyr's death. That if you must suffer for the sake of Christ, the world will not only be aware of your suffering, but see the glory of God in it that they may be saved. That if you are to be tested, it will be obvious, and that once you have proclaimed God, you will die quickly and go to heaven.
Remember the story of the Transfiguration? When Peter saw the glory of the Lord in a transfigured Jesus Christ, surrounded by his friends Elijah and Moses? Remember how Micaiah was not there? This isn't to say that Elijah didn't have it hard - he faced off against the same king and lived a good portion of his life on the run. But Elijah got to do cool shit. He got to call down fire from heaven. He got to escape the wrath of the king. He got to ride to heaven in a freaking chariot. Elijah did not languish in a prison cell until he died. The person who suffered most did not receive the highest honor.
It's a nice story to remember anytime something goes wrong in life.