09/07/2023
Are you tripping over your feet of faith? Do you begin to run in the understanding of God's will for your life only to fall flat on your face? Well, what do you do when that happens? Do you spring at once to your feet, slowly pull yourself up, or just lay there and cry? Then again, maybe the Lord delights in your way, and He catches you so that you don’t fall at all.
“The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.”
Psalms 37:23-24 ESV
When we are truly walking in the will of God and He is delighting in our way, we might stumble but He will not allow us to fall... so why, on occasion, do we fall? Why do we fall when we are convinced we are within God's will? Could it be that we have gathered a small piece of information and then started running with it before we knew the whole story?
In business timing can be everything, and in the rush to bring an idea to fruition it is quite common to see a company push an unfinished concept or product to market. Quite often the product or vision is ahead of its time or in other words... the world is not ready to embrace it yet.
Do you remember a product called “AskJeeves”? It was a forerunner to many ideas that later became what we recognize today as Google. But when it was released the technology needed to support it was not quite there yet, and portions of the idea itself weren't complete either. It was a brilliant idea that was ahead of its time. We know this by looking at the incredible success of the more timely Google.
So often we hear God speaking to us about something He wishes us to do, and then before He has completed His final sentence we run off to do it... we cut Him off in mid-sentence. If you are a parent I am certain you can recall occasions with your children in which you had to shout "WAIT, COME BACK! I'M NOT FINISHED YET!" Are you smiling to yourself? Did this cause you to recall one of those times?
If we are able to stop the child and finish our instructions then all is well, but if not then they may be in danger; they may be running headlong towards a busy street, or to grab a sharp object. After this happens a few times we learn to begin with a warning, or words that guide the execution of our desire... so as to instruct them safely in what we wish for them to do.
God does this with us as well, He begins with words like "fear not", or when speaking through Isaiah He says "listen to me".
“"Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the Lord: look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug.”
Isaiah 51:1 ESV
There are so many ways in which the Lord speaks, or communicates, with us. Are we waiting for him to finish His thought before we run off to do it? Did we listen to the body language of the donkey, or did he have to miraculously speak to us like Balaam's donkey. You remember the story... first the donkey saw the angel in the road and turned but Balaam missed what was really happening:
“And the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand. And the donkey turned aside out of the road and went into the field. And Balaam struck the donkey, to turn her into the road.”
Numbers 22:23 ESV
Even when the donkey tried to communicate to him a second time Balaam missed the queue... he already had in his mind what he wanted to happen...
“And when the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she pushed against the wall and pressed Balaam's foot against the wall. So he struck her again.”
Numbers 22:25 ESV
The donkey was trying to tell Balaam something but his mind would not allow him to hear it. He was fixed on traveling with the princes of Balak... after all, God had told him to... right?
So the donkey tried again:
“When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam. And Balaam's anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff.”
Numbers 22:27 ESV
It was at this point that God began to shout. He did this by opening the mouth of the donkey and speaking through him. Listen to how He began:
“Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?"”
Numbers 22:28 ESV
You see, when God had first told Balaam to go with these men He had also told him to only do what He told him to. Do you remember this piece of the scripture?
“And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, "If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; but only do what I tell you."”
Numbers 22:20 ESV
But Balaam didn't wait for God to say alright... you can go now. Instead he got up in the morning and just left with them. In fact, God wasn't through speaking yet. Balaam was running off halfcocked. So now after a conversation with his donkey and an angel that might have harmed him, he gets the rest of God's instruction...
“And the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, "Go with the men, but speak only the word that I tell you." So Balaam went on with the princes of Balak.”
Numbers 22:35 ESV
Are you patient enough to speak with God? Do you hear His voice and then cut Him off in mid-sentence in your zeal to do His bidding? If so then you are destined to fall. You might fall and jump right up, only to fall again, or perhaps you will fall so hard that you get up slowly, only to fall a final time... flat on your face where you lay and cry out unto the Lord. Does this sound familiar to you?
Knowing when God has finished speaking to us requires patience, and knowing Him. We need to know Him well enough to understand when He has completed His thought concerning what He wishes us to do. We need to hear the words "go now" and pause just long enough to determine if they are followed by the word "and". If we wait on Him, and we understand fully His will for us, then He will never let us fall. His hand will catch us every time.
So, are you running off halfcocked? Or, have you received the green light to go with the princes of Balak, but not waited to hear the complete message? Are you taking God's will into your own hands? If so, let me be your donkey this morning... let me lay down in the road to stop you just long enough to hear the rest of what God has planned for you. His desire is that you not fall; His desire is that you do His bidding and remain safely, and obediently, in His will.
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for the guidance you provide me in my life. I thank you for the great things you have laid out before me. Holy Father, give me the patience to listen intently as you complete your instructions to me. Open my ears and keep my senses keen as you communicate your will to me. I know that you will never let me fall if I will only remain within your plan. So, when I attempt to take that plan into my own hands... let the donkey speak Father, and give me the humility necessary to listen and obey. Your will for me is always YOUR will Father, and too often I try to claim some degree of ownership in it; I confuse my role in your plan as being that of master... when in fact I am meant to serve you. Teach me Lord, and keep me forever within your will. You are my God and perfect in every way... I humble myself before you; and I place myself in your hand. I pray that I will always hear your entire will for me, or at very least have a donkey in my life who hears you perfectly.
Rich Forbes