The Most Dangerous Place You Can Live

The most dangerous place a person can live is directly opposed to the will of God.

We spend a great deal of time worrying about physical danger. We worry about sickness, finances, crime, accidents, political instability, and what tomorrow might bring.

But there is a danger far greater than any of these:

Knowing what God has said and continuing to walk against it.

Balaam discovered this in Numbers 22.

Balak, king of Moab, wanted Balaam to curse Israel. He sent men with promises of reward and honor. Balaam sought God concerning the matter, and God’s answer was clear:

“Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.” Numbers 22:12

There really wasn’t anything else Balaam needed to know.

God had spoken.

But Balak sent more important men with greater promises, and suddenly Balaam wanted to ask God again.

That is where this story becomes painfully relevant to us.

Sometimes we aren’t seeking God’s will. We are seeking God’s permission for our will.

We pray again. We ask someone else. We search for another interpretation. We find another preacher. We look for another verse. We keep asking because we hope eventually God will tell us what we already decided we want to hear.

When God Has Spoken, Stop Negotiating

There are things we simply do not need to pray about.

We don’t need to pray about whether we should forgive someone. God has spoken. We don’t need to pray about whether dishonesty is acceptable if it benefits us. God has spoken. We don’t need to pray about whether sexual immorality becomes acceptable because we love someone. God has spoken. We don’t need to pray about whether pride, bitterness, hatred, greed, or revenge are acceptable under our particular circumstances.

God has already spoken.

Prayer should never become an attempt to negotiate with Scripture. There comes a point when asking God for another answer is no longer seeking His will. It is resisting it.

Balaam Had Become So Spiritually Blind That His Donkey Saw the Danger First

This may be one of the most remarkable parts of Balaam’s story. As Balaam traveled, the angel of the LORD stood in his path with a sword drawn. Balaam didn’t see him.

His donkey did.

“And the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand…”
—Numbers 22:23, KJV

Think about that. The prophet couldn’t see what the donkey could see. Balaam became angry because the donkey wouldn’t cooperate with the direction Balaam wanted to travel. Yet the very thing frustrating Balaam was actually preventing his destruction. That should make every believer stop and think.

Sometimes what we call an obstacle may actually be the mercy of God.

The door that won’t open. The plan that keeps falling apart. The person who warns us. The Scripture that makes us uncomfortable. The conviction that won’t go away. We can become so determined to have our own way that we start fighting the very things God is using to protect us. Balaam beat the donkey that was saving his life. How often do we become angry at the people, circumstances, or biblical truth God uses to stand between us and disaster?

The Greatest Danger May Be Spiritual Deafness

There is another warning here that I believe the modern church desperately needs. We talk constantly about hearing from God.

• “God told me.”

• “God showed me.”

• “God spoke to my heart.”

But before asking whether God is speaking, perhaps we should ask: Are we listening to what He has already said?

Jesus repeatedly used the words:

“He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”
—Matthew 11:15, KJV

The issue wasn’t whether people possessed physical ears. The issue was whether they possessed hearts willing to hear. There is a kind of spiritual deafness that develops when a person repeatedly ignores truth. God speaks through His Word.

• The Holy Spirit convicts.

• Godly people warn us.

• Circumstances may stop us.

Yet every time we resist, rationalize, excuse, or explain away what God has clearly revealed, our hearts become a little harder. Eventually, the frightening possibility isn’t that God has become unable to speak. It is that we have become unwilling to hear.

God does not owe us endless new direction while we continually reject the truth He has already given us. Proverbs gives a sobering warning about continually refusing wisdom:

“Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded…” Proverbs 1:24

There comes a dangerous point where God may allow a person to continue down the road they insist upon traveling. Romans 1 repeatedly describes this judgment with terrifying language: “God gave them up.” Sometimes judgment isn’t God placing another obstacle in our road. Sometimes judgment is God allowing us to have the road we demanded.

Relationship Changes Our Ability to Recognize His Voice

This is why our relationship with God matters so much. Jesus said:

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27,

Notice the relationship between hearing and following. Many people want direction from God without fellowship with God. They rarely open Scripture. They seldom pray except during emergencies. Fasting has disappeared from their Christian life. Their minds are filled constantly with social media, entertainment, politics, personalities, and opinions. Then suddenly a major decision arrives and they say:

“God, tell me what to do.”

We should not expect spiritual sensitivity without spiritual fellowship. You learn to recognize someone’s voice by spending time with them. If the only time I seek God is when I need an answer, I should not be surprised when distinguishing His voice from my own desires becomes difficult. And sometimes what we call “God’s leading” is simply our own preference wearing spiritual clothing.

Be Very Careful When Everyone Seeking God Is Telling You the Same Thing

There is another principle we should approach with humility.

The majority is not always right.

Scripture gives examples where crowds, nations, and even religious leaders stood together and were completely wrong. Truth is determined by God and His Word; not by popular vote.

But there is another side to that truth we should not ignore.

When multiple spiritually mature believers are independently praying, searching Scripture, seeking God’s will, and arriving at the same conclusion, while you alone remain in direct opposition, that should cause you to stop and seriously examine your heart.

“Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.” Proverbs 11:14

Anyone who has served in a church very long knows how difficult it can be to get two or three people to agree about anything—much less a broad group of praying believers arriving at the same conclusion. That agreement does not automatically make them right. But it should make us listen. There are rare occasions in Scripture when the majority stood against God. Joshua and Caleb stood against the report of the other spies. Elijah stood against the prophets of Baal. The apostles sometimes stood against powerful religious authorities. But those men were standing on something God had clearly said—not merely something they personally wanted.

That is the difference. Being the only person in the room who disagrees does not automatically make you courageous, prophetic, or spiritually discerning. Sometimes it simply means: You may be wrong.

And there is another warning we should take seriously.

If getting what you want requires you to go against an agreement you previously made, there is a very good chance you are the one who needs to stop and examine yourself.

Scripture places tremendous importance on keeping our word.

“He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.” Psalm 15:4

That is powerful. The righteous man keeps his word even when keeping it becomes uncomfortable or costly. Of course, no agreement can require us to disobey clear Scripture. If keeping an agreement would require sin, God’s Word must come first. But we should be extremely careful about suddenly discovering a “spiritual reason” to abandon an agreement simply because the agreement no longer produces the outcome we wanted.

God’s will does not require dishonesty to accomplish it.

If you prayed together, sought God’s direction together, established an agreed-upon process together, and committed yourself to honor the outcome, then you should be extremely cautious about changing the rules after discovering that the outcome is not what you personally desired. At that point the question is no longer simply: “Did I get what I wanted?” The question becomes: “Will I honor what I said when I don’t get what I wanted?”

That reveals something about the heart. When nearly everyone around you who is sincerely praying and seeking God’s will is telling you the same thing, while you alone are insisting upon another direction, wisdom demands that you ask:

“Lord, is it possible that I am the one not hearing You?”

And if pursuing your preferred outcome also requires breaking an agreement you previously accepted, that question becomes even more important. There is a dangerous tendency in Christianity to assume that because I prayed about something, whatever I personally want afterward must be God’s will. But prayer isn’t supposed to convince God to agree with me.

Prayer is supposed to bring me into submission to Him.

James warns: “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” James 4:3

Sometimes what we call “seeking the Almighty” is really seeking the almighty what-I-want.

• We have already decided.

• We have already formed our opinion.

• We have already chosen our direction.

Now we simply want God’s name attached to it.

That is dangerous.

If Scripture clearly supports your position, stand on Scripture even when you stand alone. But if Scripture does not clearly support your position, mature believers around you are seeking God, there is broad spiritual agreement among them, and getting your way requires abandoning an agreement you already made, don’t quickly assume that everyone else has missed God.

Stop. Examine yourself. Fast. Pray. Search the Scriptures. Listen to godly counsel. And ask the difficult question: “Is this really God’s will—or have I become so determined to have my will that I am willing to break my word, dismiss godly counsel, and call my own desires the voice of God?”

Be Careful When God Stands in Your Way

Numbers 22:32 contains one of the most sobering statements in Balaam’s story: “Behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me.” Imagine hearing those words from God:

“I am standing against the direction you are going.”

There may be no more dangerous position for a human being. If God is standing against my direction, I don’t need more determination.

• I don’t need more supporters.

• I don’t need another opportunity.

• I don’t need another vote.

• I don’t need someone to validate my feelings.

I need to stop.

Because success outside God’s will is still failure. An open door outside God’s will is still the wrong door. Getting what I wanted while losing fellowship with God and others is no victory at all.

The Question Isn’t Simply, “Is God Speaking?”

Maybe the better questions are:

• Am I listening?

• Have I obeyed what He has already said?

• Am I actually seeking God’s will, or am I asking Him to bless mine?

• Have I listened to the godly counsel He has placed around me?

• Am I honoring the commitments I already made?

• Have I become so committed to my direction that I resent anything—or anyone—God puts in my path to stop me?

Balaam’s donkey saw the sword before Balaam did. That should humble every one of us. The greatest danger in your life may not be the enemy standing in front of you. It may be your own determination to continue down a road God has told you not to travel.

• Stay close enough to God to recognize His voice.

• Stay humble enough to receive correction.

• Stay honest enough to keep your word.

• Stay surrendered enough to change direction.

And when God’s Word has clearly spoken, don’t keep asking Him for an answer you like better.

There is no safer place than walking in the will of God—and few places more dangerous than knowingly standing against it.