“for Israel’s King Ahab asked Judah’s King Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to Ramoth-gilead?” He replied to him, “I am as you are, my people as your people; we will be with you in the battle.” But Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “First, please ask what the Lord’s will is.”…… “Now, you see, the Lord has put a lying spirit into the mouth of these prophets of yours, and the Lord has pronounced disaster against you.”……But the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your royal attire.” So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle……The battle raged throughout that day, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Arameans until evening. Then he died at sunset.” 2 Chronicles 18:3-4, 22, 29, 34 CSB https://bible.com/bible/1713/2ch.18.3-34.CSB

It is foolish to seek the Lord if we do not plan to obey Him. What we want is for God to bless our plans. We were created and are saved by Jesus to execute God’s plans on earth. The good king of Judah had already committed to helping the bad king of Israel. Yet he wanted to know the Lord’s will in the matter. The will of the Lord was a disaster against Israel. Undeterred, though it nearly cost him his life, the king of Judah went against the Lord’s will to help Israel. The Lord’s will occurred, and disaster against the king of Israel by the loss of his life was the result of their actions. When we are committed to certain behaviors, we look for approval of those behaviors, hoping all works out and we suffer no loss. Yet, if we were told we would suffer loss, would we be committed to humbling ourselves before God and changing course? Pursuing our careers and pleasures while ignoring the mission of the Great Commission jeopardizes our souls to hell. Raising children to be happy rather than holy jeopardizes their souls to hell. The word of God tells us how to live so that we live well now and in the age to come. Our responsibility is to inquire of the Lord through His word and, with the help of His church, to do His will unequivocally. If we want a long life, eternal life, in the kingdom of God with the people we love, we must obey the Lord because we love Him most and first, regardless of what the culture around us tells us, and it will always tell us what is contrary to the word of God and thus the will of God.