Dad Said, "No"

Numbers 22:13 The next morning Balaam got up and said to Balak's princes, "Go back to your own country, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you."

It's time to settle the matter with what you believe - own it or let it go. If you don't own it, if you're only believing and obeying because you've been told to, then at the first sign of a true temptation, you will not have the strength to stand on your lack of conviction. As they saying goes, you will fold faster than Superman on wash day.

In Numbers 22, Balak wanted Balaam to curse the Israelites. He sent men and money to convince him to do it. Balaam asked the men to stay through the night so he could get the answer. (Mistake #1). In the night, the Lord of course told Balaam that this was not an option, so the next morning Balaam gave the reply found in the above verse. He basically told the men, "God said I can't" The implication being that he wanted to. What happened next was inevitable - Balak sent more men and more money - he smelled blood and went in for the kill. God eventually told Balaam, "Go ahead - you're heart's set on it anyway." He will give us over to our bents if we push hard enough. (Romans 1:24, 26, 28)

That's the difference between a conviction and a compulsion. If you truly believe something, if you've evaluated it, prayed over it, and embraced it in your heart, you will stand firm. It's hard to pry a conviction out of someone's hand. The world knows this so they stop asking. If Balaam had said, "Never - no way," then Balak would not have come back. When I was in high school, the kids knew I wasn't going to give in to the party scene - so they stopped bugging me. If they thought it was because my parents wouldn't let me, they would come at me harder.

The problem is that too many of us are only doing things because "Dad said so." We only obey because we were taught to - not because we believe it and own it. They are compulsions - and Satan knows this. So he comes harder and harder at you, with greater 'rewards' if you will give in. Your lack of conviction has opened a door for him - and Satan always goes in for the kill when he smells blood.

Therefore . . . settle the matter now. If you're only 'pretty sure' you don't want to engage in pre-marital sex, then you're not going to make the decision at 1:00am in a dark room on a couch while you're making out. You have to have made the decision before that. If you're only 'pretty sure' that Jesus is the Way, that your faith is built on His finished work, then you're not going to make that decision when faced with a professor hammering the 'myths and contradictions' of the Bible down you're throat.

Please - turn these 'pretty sures' into convictions. It is the only way that you will stand and it is the only way that you can grow. Debating, mulling, wondering, studying - they're all great - but they will be a constant spinning of wheels . Anyone that's been stuck in the mud knows that spinning wheels only gets you deeper into the mud. So, again, make a decision, own your faith, own your convictions, so that you can stand on those days when the Balaks of the world come with their ever-increasing temptations.

As I said, the Lord will give you over to your bents, to your heart's true desires. On the positive side, however, He does promise to strengthen your convictions.