The Hindering Hand of God

“And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me:” (Nu 22:32 AV)

 Balaam is a prophet who had it in his mind to cozy up to the world because the world promised him something.  Balaam is a very slick individual.  He is a master manipulator.  Balak, king of Moab, wised him to come and curse Israel.  God forbade Balaam from doing so.  God even forbade Balaam from going to Balak to tell him so.  He was to remain completely separate and not have anything to do with those who wished Israel destroyed.  However, what Balaam did do was organize the conversation between the two in such a way as to create an open door through which he could come to the Balak.  Even though he knew he could not curse Israel, he was still hoping to gain something from this relationship.  We learn that later, Balaam let slip the means to bring destruction to Israel by means of intermarriage.  On the way to see Balak, an angel of the LORD stood in the way.  Three times the donkey upon which Balaam rode turned out of the way.  For no apparent reason to Balaam’s observation, the donkey chose a different path.  Balaam never connected the dots.  What the donkey was doing was responding to God’s hand of hindrance.  Circumstances that should have meant something to Balaam escaped his perception.  He labeled his ass’ behavior as nothing more than unpredictable animal behavior.  This got me thinking.  I wonder how many times the LORD tried to hinder me from a course of action and I never saw it.  How many times did I start down a road I wasn’t supposed to be on and the LORD turned me out of the way only for me to find another way to the objective?

I have seen many a young person begin a romantic relationship that was not God’s will for them and the LORD tried to frustrate their purposes.  I have seen them go behind their parent’s backs.  I have seen them communicate by false profiles, by secret texts, or in other clandestine ways.  I have seen young people sneak off to be alone when their authority figures expressly forbade it.  One young person I knew wanted to be intimate with anyone available.  This person wanted more than anything else to lose their purity as soon as a warm body could be found.  An attempt was made while dating someone.  It did not happen.  A second attempt was made with a friend.  This too failed.  Then this individual went on a school trip.  A best friend warned the student advisor to the intentions of their BFF.  When this student was caught trying to hook up, both were immediately confined to their respective hotel rooms for the duration of the trip with an ever-present chaperone in tow.  This young person professed to know Christ, but actions speak louder than words.  God took this person at their word and held this student accountable.  Each step this student took was countered by a God-thing that made it impossible to fulfill abiding lust.  Without knowing it, the LORD was looking out for this student.  He made it very hard for this person to make a choice that would have been a regret for the remainder of their very long life.

If we are bound and determined to a certain course of action, even the obvious escapes us.  These obvious warning signs are consequences before the decision rather than afterward.  These speed bumps are God’s way of warning us the road we are on is not going to end at a happy place.  These are steps meant to frustrate our purpose so that we do not end up making a decision that would cost us in the long run.  These things are not meant to make us angry.  They are not meant to frustrate us beyond the ability to enjoy life.  They are meant as roadblocks to keep us from a dangerous path that can only end one way.  A child who is faced with these roadblocks will throw temper tantrums.  He will kick and scream thinking their fit will change the course of action.  A mature and astute person will acknowledge that perhaps they are not on the right path and change course lest a worse thing come upon them.  God’s hand of hindrance is actually a compassionate extension of His grace.  He can see the end from the beginning and knows what harm will come if He allows us to continue.  This hand of hindrance is often obvious to others, but it is not to us.  Balaam’s ass saw it plainly while the prophet was blind to it.  Perhaps watching the reaction of others will indicate just what God doesn’t want us to do as well as what He wants us to do.