“So the next morning Balaam got up, saddled his donkey, and started off with the Moabite officials. But God was angry that Balaam was going, so he sent the Angel of the Lord to stand in the road to block his way. As Balaam and two servants were riding along, Balaam’s donkey saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in His hand. The donkey bolted off the road into a field, but Balaam beat it and turned it back onto the road. Then the Angel of the Lord stood at a place where the road narrowed between two vineyard walls. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it tried to squeeze by and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall. So Balaam beat the donkey again. Then the Angel of the Lord moved farther down the road and stood in a place too narrow for the donkey to get by at all. This time when the donkey saw the angel, it lay down under Balaam. In a fit of rage Balaam beat the animal again with his staff. Then the Lord gave the donkey the ability to speak. “What have I done to you that deserves your beating me three times?” it asked Balaam. “You have made me look like a fool!” Balaam shouted. “If I had a sword with me, I would kill you!” “But I am the same donkey you have ridden all your life,” the donkey answered. “Have I ever done anything like this before?” “No,” Balaam admitted. Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the roadway with a drawn sword in his hand. Balaam bowed his head and fell face down on the ground before him. “Why did you beat your donkey those three times?” the angel of the Lord demanded. “Look, I have come to block your way because you are stubbornly resisting me. Three times the donkey saw Me and shied away; otherwise, I would certainly have killed you by now and spared the donkey.”
Numbers 22:21-33 NLT
“If righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and ignore the obstacles I put in their way, they will die. And if you do not warn them, they will die in their sins. None of their righteous acts will be remembered, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. But if you warn righteous people not to sin and they listen to you and do not sin, they will live, and you will have saved yourself, too.”
Ezekiel 3:20-21 NLT
Yes my friends, God sets up obstacles in the path of the righteous to protect us. The things we sometimes blame on Satan, might just be God trying to save you from that horrible life altering decision you’re about to make. How many times have you known in your heart that what you’re about to do is wrong, but you do it anyway only to discover that it didn’t turn out the way you thought it would? How many times have you sought advice from godly people who told you what you didn’t want to hear, so you left angry and sullen? Those were godly obstacles.
I don’t know about other teachers of God’s Word, I can only speak for myself. I refuse to die because I was afraid to deliver the Word of the Lord to someone out of fear. Whatever He tells me by His Spirit to say I’ve committed to saying it and leave the consequences to Him. I can recall countless times that the Lord had given me a word of warning for someone and they brushed me off only to see what I said come to pass. What emboldens most people is the fact that they didn’t physically die. But death isn’t always physical. Spiritual death is more devastating. The absence of the presence of God is scarier to me than any punishment I could receive.
The hardships most Christians and even non christians alike are experiencing can be traced oftentimes to pushing through God’s barriers. He’s always looking for ways to protect us from ourselves. We’re not as smart as we think we are. If we were, why do we keep making the same dumb mistakes? Because without the mind of Christ we’re governed by the flesh and we all know who controls the flesh. Obstacles are warnings, it’s a pause button. It’s the perfect opportunity to step back, regroup, think things through, reconsider our options and most importantly seek the Lord for godly wisdom. It’s a moment to discern whether the obstacles are divine or devilish. To gain clarity before moving forward.
God’s obstacles are designed to protect us. Notice that the obstacle was set up to protect the righteous. God may use His Word, a pastor or leader of the church, a trusted friend or family member, it may even be something as obscure as a television commercial, He’ll use whatever it takes to prevent us from making shipwreck of our lives. He told Ezekiel to warn them, give them an opportunity to change course, both have a responsibility. One to warn or not, the other to heed or not. There are consequences for both actions. One that leads to life for both or death to both. Ignoring or pushing through godly obstacles is never a good idea. But the greater responsibility is placed on the one sent to give the warning.
Never ignore the promptings of the Holy Spirit to bring His Word to the church or to individuals. We may not understand why, or we may even be shocked by whom He’s sending us to warn. But we never second guess our General. Our obedience may mean life or death to that ministry or individual. Maybe you’re on the receiving end of the warning. But the Word is very clear about what happens to those who refuse to heed. The Holy Spirit will never have me write anything that isn’t relevant to the readers. This message is an eye opener and a warning. That thing, person, job, move, marriage, deal, purchase, relationship that seems never to be going through, may be God’s obstacle. The scriptures are very clear about the consequences for going against the warnings of God. It started in Genesis and concludes in Revelation. God never places obstacles without clear warnings.
Pushing against the goads like Jesus told Saul is counterproductive. You’ll get nowhere fast. It will only get harder. James encourages us to ask for wisdom. This isn’t the time to be stubborn, it’s time to change course. If you’ve asked yourself “why isn’t this working out?” Instead of trying to come up with your own answers, seek the Lord. There’s a stark difference between failing at something, and ignoring God’s obstacles. But both should bring you to a place of seeking Him for wisdom and direction. The former to perhaps find a better approach, the latter to avoid a lifetime of regrets. Not all obstacles are bad, as we’ve learned from the reading for today. The key is discerning by whom were the obstacles placed in the first place, and the reasons why they were placed.
My prayer is that this message will bring clarity to decisions you are about to make by causing you to hit the pause button and seek the Lord. You want to leave a legacy that will not be forgotten, and I do not wish to die because I didn’t warn you.
Written by permission of the Holy Spirit
W. Tennant
September 9, 2021