They hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. Nevertheless the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam, but the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you. (Deuteronomy 23:3-4)

The decision to serve the One and Only God obviously has its benefits — benefits that far outweigh the costs. But make no mistake, there are costs. For example, Abraham was told to leave his country, his family and his father’s house. In short, he was asked to leave everything, and then later to take his son to the top of a mountain to present him as a burnt offering. As I said, there are costs. And then there is the fact that the enemies of God declare war on His servants, meaning that we have a big target on our chest. That is especially true if God is using us to do something for the kingdom. Being the accuser of the brethren, he incessantly lobs falsehood and accusation at the people of God.

Such was the case when Israel crossed into the region of Moab. Balak promptly hired the Mesopotamian seer, Balaam, to come and curse God’s people. Balaam made several attempts to pronounce a curse upon the tents of Jacob but was thwarted by the Almighty’s insistence that he say only what God told him to say. Instead of cursing them, he ended up blessing them three times! The verse above tells us why — because the LORD your God loves you.

It is a comfort to know that, even when the Adversary hurls his darts and arrows of lies and accusation against us, they will not render the destruction he so desperately desires. Yes, he is able to get his licks in and make our lives difficult at times but, if we stand on faith, God will see to it that what was meant for harm will be turned to good. No weapon formed against us will prosper if we continue to stand firm in the conviction that the LORD our God loves us. As He told the Philadelphian congregation, in the end, those who plotted against us will come “to know that I have loved you” (Revelation 3:9).

Blessings and Shalom,  

Bill 

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