God Allows Roadblocks
“But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea blown and tossed by the wind.” (James 1:6)
No one likes a roadblock, especially when you think you’re traveling the right direction. Didn’t the GPS lead me here, you think, as you turn around, and figure another way to reach your destination.
But today, I’m here to tell you that God doesn’t always use roadblocks to stop us from going down a path. Sometimes, like our navigation system, he tells us to proceed in a direction, and allows a blockade, so that he can be the one to bulldoze through it. It is then we know definitively the mission is from him, and that he is to receive all the glory for it.
The story of Balaam provides a great example. The king of the Moabites, Balak, wanted to hire a popular soothsayer, Balaam, to curse Israel. God allowed Balaam to go to Moab, but told him to say and do only what he told him to say and do. No cursing! So Balaam obediently went to Moab, but was intercepted by an Angel of the Lord blocking the road. You may know the story. The donkey saw the Angel, but Balaam missed the holy stop sign three different times.
Now why would God tell Balaam to go to Moab, then block him with such an ominous detour?
God knew Balaam’s heart was divided. He was a worshipper of many gods, including the one true God. The Lord may have known deep down, Balaam wanted a big payday for cursing Israel, rather than blessing them. Through the roadblock, God wanted to make sure there was no turning back for Balaam, in his mind, or in his actions.
When I felt a call from God to attend seminary, God knew I was waffling on the assignment, so he sent a couple of roadblocks my way. First, our car was stolen out of our driveway. You never recover what you owe on a car, so having to buy a new vehicle would prohibit us from affording the additional cost of seminary. Already getting cold feet about seminary, I told God “If you want me to go, you’ll have to bring the car back.”
It looked like a lost cause, but four days later, after a high-speed chase with the thieves, our SUV was recovered in perfect condition, with a full tank of gas.
The second roadblock had to do with financial aid. When I filled out paperwork for seminary, and for financial aid, I put an initial for my middle name on one form, and my full middle name on another. Because the names didn’t match, I was denied financial aid. I protested with the school, and they said the money was all gone.
It was another roadblock, and I used it to weasel out of seminary. I can remember sitting in the parking lot of my workplace, telling God that if he didn’t pull off a miracle for financial aid, I was going to defer school for a year. When I went up to my office and turned on my computer, there was an email saying, “Congratulations, you have just received a 40% tuition reduction grant.”
It was at that point I realized, the roadblocks were allowed by God, so he could move them out of the way, and open up the path he created for me. After these experiences, I never doubted my call, and I knew there would be no turning back, no matter how difficult school got, at test time or when writing a thirty-page paper.
If you are facing a roadblock in your life right now, and you’re confused because you thought it was a path that God chose for you, don’t be discouraged. Ask the Lord to plow through the roadblock. If he does, don’t look back, and never doubt the direction he has taken you. (LBW)