God doesn’t want any of us walking in the dark. He knows the light of His Word and His presence bring comfort, faith, and confidence. This is true of every obstacle or area of confusion. God is the first one to say, “You want to understand? Let me show you.”
In the book of Micah, the writer makes an interesting statement. He said,“O My people, remember now what Balak king of Moab counseled, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, that you may know the righteousness of the Lord” (Micah 6:5).
In other words, God (speaking through the prophet Micah) was saying, “You want to understand My righteousness? Go study the story of King Balak and the prophet Balaam.”
I encourage you to read for yourself the story in Numbers 22-24, but here’s the gist of it. King Balak wanted something done about the large number of Israelites that moved in to his territory, so he sent for Balaam the prophet. Balaam had a reputation that whoever he blessed was blessed, and whoever he cursed was cursed.
King Balak sent men to Balaam’s house asking him to come. At first, God told Balaam not to go, but the king sent more men with bribes to persuade Balaam. And although it should’ve been a done deal, the prophet asks God again and this time God says he can go with them. But when Balaam gets up the next day to go with the king’s men, God is angry with him.
Jude 1:11 explains why: “Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.” In other words, Balaam got greedy. He must have thought all night about the rewards he was going to receive from the king and his heart shifted.
But once Balaam receives correction, an angel of God tells him, “Go with these men, but only say what God tells you to say.”
THIS IS IMPORTANT
Multiple times, King Balak took the prophet up on a high mountain to see the vast number of people and asked him to curse them. But ultimately Balaam could not. Instead he pronounced a blessing over the people. He said, “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it” (Numbers 23:19-20).
And this is what God wanted us to understand about His righteousness. Remember, He said study this story. In a nutshell, God wants us to know: He cannot curse what He has blessed. One of may favorite all-time quotes says:
You can bend it and twist it. You can misuse it and abuse it.
But even God cannot change the truth. --Michael Levy
You are valuable to God. He will never curse you. But because you are designed to operate out of your heart, it is possible for you to operate LESS THAN how God intended for you.
UNDERSTAND THIS
The devil has figured out how to target your heart with insecurities. He’s the one tripping you up with regret, guilt, and condemnation in hopes you’ll be ineffective in this war against him.
The truth is, the devil can’t take away our glory but he can make us believe we don’t have any.
When my oldest son was just four years old, he tested my authority as mom. I had asked him to do something that he was unwilling to do, so I said, “Do you want to go to time out?” To which he replied, “Do YOU want to go to time out?”
My son tried to bully me but let’s just say mom won that battle because I knew I was mom and I wasn’t going to let a four year old boss me. And in the same way, if you know who you are, the devil can’t bully or boss you either.
To better understanding your righteousness and authority in Christ, think about it this way. Jesus committed no sin to be sin (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Let me say it again: Jesus committed NO sin, yet He was made to be sin for you and I. In the same way, God isn’t looking for you to do anything righteous before you were made righteous. God is simply able to make something BE.
God said you are righteous and blessed. The devil can’t change that fact. All you need to do now is believe it and receive it. It’s time to use your righteousness like a weapon against your real enemy.
