Does God owe us anything?

This question comes from my walk with Papa yesterday. I was thanking him for all that he is, all that he does for me, and I found myself saying that I owe him everything. The logical follow-up to that is to acknowledge that he doesn't owe me anything, and I started to say that, but I felt a check in my spirit. 

So we talked about it. He reminded me that he required people who make a promise to him to fulfil that promise [Numbers 30:2, Deuteronomy 23:21-23, Ecclesiastes 5:4&5 for starters]; if he expects that of us, then he will expect that of himself as well.

So yeah, if he has promised something, he does owe me the thing he has promised. 

• It's complicated by the reality that there are things that I think he has promised which he has not actually promised. That's my error.

• It's complicated by the fact that some promises in Scripture have conditions on them: If you do this, then God will do that. Ignorance of the conditions does not invalidate them.

• It's complicated by the reality that not every warm and fuzzy statement in the Bible is a promise to me personally, or to the people I hang out with. It's beyond the scope of this article to identify which are for me and which are for someone else. 

• It's complicated by the fact that he doesn't generally promise to live up to the timetable of my expectations. He very well could be still working on it. 

• It's complicated by the reality that sometimes we think that we're owed something because of what I've done (or tried to do), or because I think of myself as something special. That is not part of his promises, and he specifically rules it out [Titus 3:5].

• It's complicated by the reality that there are promises that he has already fulfilled that I haven't seen/experienced yet. I don't know if that's my mistake, or if that's just the way life is (or if he's just being sneaky, like my bride does with birthday presents).

So yeah, God owe us anything? Yeah, he does. But only what he's promised. He doesn't owe us anything based on who we are or what we've done for him.

It strikes me that it might be worth my time to learn what promises God has actually made, and listening to warm fuzzy things that other people say about God is not a substitute. 

At least that's how I see it. How do you see it?

How to Walk With a Limp

Balaam is interesting. He appears to have a legitimate prophetic gift, but you sure wouldn’t know it by watching how he works. The ungodly king asks him to do an ungodly job: curse the people of Israel.

But God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” [Numbers 22:12]

God says not to do this job, but Balaam asks again, because the money is good, and because there’s lots of prestige when you’re working for a king.

God answers differently this time: 20 That night God came to Balaam and said, “Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you.”

So Balaam goes on the trip, but then God sends an angel, three times, to kill him on the way to the job.

Perhaps that should have been a clue. This is where the donkey speaks up and reveals what's really going on, crushing his foot against a stone wall in the process. Perhaps that also should have been a clue. 

And still, Balaam doesn't give up. He is still pursuing this high-paying prestigious job. He continues on; I assume he was limping from the crushed foot.

It occurs to me that God didn't actually change his mind. Rather, since Balaam was determined to find a way to go, God got out of his way, and let him sin. That’s not pretty, but we’ve seen God do that in other places. [Romans 1:24; Revelation 22:11]

That doesn’t make it right, of course. That means that God is serious about giving us free will, even a free enough will to make serious mistakes.

I believe that it’s John 7:17 that says that God will reveal the truth to the people who are willing to obey. I think Balaam was experiencing that: he wasn’t willing to obey, so he didn’t get the truth. Apparently, a commitment to riches and prestige is not a good way to find the truth.

I think a lot of people have experienced this, where God gives them permission to do the wrong thing, because they are not committed to doing what God says to do, they’re not really listening for the truth; they’re working to persuade God of their opinion.

As I came to this passage, I realized I have done this. I have come to God, asking for his direction, but I wasn’t really ready to hear his will. What I really wanted to hear was my will, but in his voice. That didn’t work out so well. Blew up a full seven years of my life. I still walk with that limp.

I don't know about about you, but but I think I want to to learn this lesson better.

Is it just me, or is it maybe not a good sign if God changes his mind about that thing he had just told you not to do?

Perhaps that should have been a clue. This is where the donkey speaks up and reveals what's really going on, crushing his foot against a stone wall in the process. Perhaps that also should have been a clue.