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THE MYSTERY OF DIVINE INTERVENTION-Conversation VI: The Interventions You Never Saw · PAMOJA PODCAST | PAMOJA MINISTRY, A LIFE OF CHRIST INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES

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  Welcome to Pamoja Ministry. There are miracles
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  you remember because you saw them happen. You
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  remember the door that opened. You remember the
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  prayer that was answered. You remember the moment
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  the situation changed. You remember when the
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  doctor gave you different news. You remember
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  when the provision arrived. You remember when
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  the enemy moved. You remember when the storm
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  finally became quiet. And because you witnessed
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  those moments, you knew exactly what to call
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  them. Divine intervention. But lately, another
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  question has been sitting heavily in my heart.
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  What about the interventions you never saw? What
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  about the danger you never knew was approaching?
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  What about the conversation that happened somewhere
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  you were not present? What about the decision
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  someone intended to make against you? but mysteriously
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  changed? What about the door God refused to allow
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  you to walk through? What about the delay that
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  frustrated you but kept you from arriving somewhere
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  at the wrong moment? What about the relationship
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  that never developed? What about the plan of
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  the enemy that collapsed before it ever reached
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  your life? What about the battle heaven fought
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  for you that you never even knew existed. Because
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  if we only thank God for the interventions we
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  recognize, perhaps we are thanking him for only
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  a fraction of what his mercy has actually done.
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  There may be chapters of your testimony you cannot
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  tell because you never knew they happened. And
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  scripture gives us an extraordinary picture of
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  this mystery. Israel is traveling toward the
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  promise. They have survived Egypt. They have
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  crossed the Red Sea. They have walked through
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  the wilderness. And now, without their knowledge,
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  a king named Balak becomes terrified of them.
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  Balak has watched what has happened to the nations
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  before Israel, and he understands that military
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  strength alone may not be enough. So he chooses
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  another strategy. He sent for a man named Balaam,
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  and his request is simple. Curse them. Now stop
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  there. Because while Balak is planning, Israel
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  is living. While messengers are traveling, Israel
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  is living. While negotiations are taking place,
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  Israel is living. While Balaam is being offered
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  rewards, Israel is living. While somebody is
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  discussing how to curse them Israel apparently
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  does not know any of this is happening. They
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  are below Balak and Balaam are above and Suddenly
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  the story becomes uncomfortable because it reveals
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  something about life Not every battle announces
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  itself not every enemy introduces himself not
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  every attack arrives with a warning There are
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  things happening beyond the limits of what human
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  eyes can see. And yet, God sees them. Let's explore.
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  Part one, God can defend you before you know
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  you need defense. Balak brings Balam to a place
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  where he can see Israel. Altars are built. Sacrifices
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  are offered. Everything appears position for
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  Balam to pronounce the curse Balak wants. Israel
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  is below. Completely vulnerable from a human
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  perspective because they do not even know what
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  is being attempted against them. But Balam opens
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  his mouth and something unexpected happens. Instead
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  of cursing Israel, he blesses them. Balak is
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  furious. That is not what he paid for. So he
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  takes Balam somewhere else. Perhaps from another
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  angle it will work. Another place. Another attempt.
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  More altars. More sacrifices. But again, the
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  curse cannot come. And Balam eventually declares,
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  How can I curse those whom God has not cursed?
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  How can I denounce those whom the Lord has not
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  denounced? Think about that. Israel did not have
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  to climb the mountain and stop Balaam. Israel
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  did not have to discover Balak's strategy. Israel
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  did not have to organize an emergency prayer
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  meeting specifically against a plot they knew
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  nothing about. Israel did not have to defend
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  themselves from this particular attempt. Why?
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  Because God was already in the conversation before
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  Israel knew they needed intervention. God had
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  intervened, and perhaps somebody listening to
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  me needs to hear this. God does not need you
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  to know about a battle in order for him to fight
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  it. We sometimes think God can only intervene
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  after we identify the problem and present it
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  to him in prayer. And yes, scripture calls us
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  to pray. We should pray. We should watch. We
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  should seek God. We should exercise wisdom. and
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  discernment. But the sovereignty of God is not
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  limited by the boundaries of our awareness. There
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  are things you don't know to pray about. There
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  are dangers you don't know exist. There are conversations
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  you cannot hear. There are motives you cannot
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  discern. There are plans you cannot investigate.
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  There are roads ahead you cannot see. but God
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  can see beyond the horizon of your knowledge.
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  And that means your protection has never depended
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  entirely upon your ability to detect every threat.
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  There are times when divine intervention begins
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  before human awareness. Let's now explore part
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  two, when the curse becomes a blessing. But there
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  is something even more astonishing in Balam's
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  story. God does not merely prevent Balam from
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  cursing Israel. The mouth that was hired to curse
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  them begins blessing them. Now that is divine
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  intervention. Balak wanted one outcome. God produced
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  another. The intention was destruction. The result
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  became blessing. And this reminds me of Joseph.
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  You intended to harm me, but God intended it
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  for good. Again, we encounter the mystery. Human
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  beings can have intentions. The enemy can have
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  intentions. Circumstances can move in directions
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  that frighten us. But none of those things possesses
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  ultimate authority over the purposes of God.
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  And I want to say this carefully because faith
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  does not mean pretending evil does not exist.
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  Betrayal is real. Injustice is real. Pain is
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  real. Human beings can make destructive choices.
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  Scripture never asks us to call evil good. But
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  Scripture repeatedly reveals a God who is capable
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  of overruling what evil intended to accomplish.
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  Balak says, curse them. God says no. Balak changes
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  locations. God still says no. Balak tries again.
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  God still says no. And eventually, Balaam declares
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  something extraordinary. There is no divination
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  against Jacob. no evil omens against Israel.
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  In other words, what God has blessed cannot simply
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  be overturned because someone else has decided
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  otherwise. And imagine Israel below the mountain,
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  children playing, families preparing meals, people
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  tending their belongings, people discussing ordinary
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  life, and above them a battle concerning them
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  is being fought. They cannot hear it. They cannot
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  see it. But God is present in it. Maybe there
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  were days in your life exactly like that. You
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  went to work. You came home. You ate dinner.
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  You went to sleep. You woke up the next morning.
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  Nothing dramatic happened. You called it an ordinary
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  day. But what if heaven called it protection?
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  What if something did not happen because God
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  said no? Let's explore part three. Lord, open
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  his eyes. Second Kings gives us another remarkable
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  picture. The king of Aram is at war with Israel.
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  Every time he develops a strategy, Elisha somehow
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  knows what is happening and warns the king of
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  Israel. Eventually, the king of Aram becomes
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  convinced there must be a traitor among his own
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  officers, but someone tells him, no one, my lord
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  the king. Elisha, the prophet in Israel, tells
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  the king of Israel the very words you speak in
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  your bedroom. So the king sends horses, chariots,
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  and a strong military force to capture Elisha.
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  They arrive at night. They surround the city.
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  Early the next morning, Elisha's servant walks
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  outside, and everywhere he looks, soldiers, horses,
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  chariots. The city is surrounded. The servant
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  panics. Oh no, my lord, what shall we do? And
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  Elisha gives one of the most extraordinary responses
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  in scripture. Don't be afraid. Those who are
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  with us are more than those who are with them.
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  Imagine being the servant. You look again. Enemy
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  soldiers everywhere. You look at Elisha. Two
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  people. And Elisha says, we have more. At that
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  moment the servant has a problem. He is interpreting
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  reality only through what his eyes can see. So
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  Elisha prays. Open his eyes, Lord, so that he
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  may see. And God opens the servant's eyes. Suddenly,
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  he sees the hills full of horses and chariots
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  of fire surrounding Elisha. Now notice something.
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  The heavenly army did not appear when the servant's
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  eyes opened. It was already there. His eyes simply
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  became capable of seeing what had been present
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  all along. That is a revelation. Sometimes prayer
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  does not cause God to arrive. Sometimes prayer
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  awakens us to the fact that God was already there.
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  The servant thought they were surrounded. He
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  was correct. He simply did not realize the enemy
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  was also surrounded. And perhaps there are moments
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  in your life when you are counting everything
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  coming against you while heaven is saying you
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  have not counted everything standing with you.
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  You see the problem. God sees the provision.
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  You see the opposition. God sees the armies of
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  heaven. You see the closed door. God sees what
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  was behind it. You see the delay. God sees what
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  the delay prevented. You see what happened. God
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  sees what didn't happen. And sometimes the greatest
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  limitation in our understanding of divine intervention
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  is that we only know the history we experienced.
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  We do not know the histories God prevented. Let's
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  analyze part four. Satan has asked for you. Then
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  Jesus says something to Peter that takes this
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  mystery even deeper. Simon, Simon, Satan has
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  asked to sift all of you as wheat. Imagine hearing
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  that from Jesus. Peter did not tell Jesus that
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  Satan had requested him. Peter apparently did
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  not know. There was something happening concerning
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  Peter that Peter himself had not perceived. But
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  Jesus continues. But I have prayed for you, Simon,
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  that your faith may not fail. There it is again.
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  Before Peter fully understood the battle, intercession
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  had already begun. Before Peter denied Jesus,
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  Jesus had prayed. Before Peter wept bitterly,
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  Jesus had prayed. before Peter understood how
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  violently his faith was about to be shaken. Jesus
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  had prayed, and there is something profoundly
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  comforting here. Peter still experienced the
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  sifting. Peter still stumbled. Peter still denied
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  Jesus. Divine intervention did not mean Peter
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  experienced no battle. But the battle did not
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  accomplish everything it wanted. Satan wanted
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  Peter's destruction. Jesus prayed for Peter's
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  faith. Peter fell, but Peter returned. Peter
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  wept, but Peter returned. Peter failed, but Peter
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  returned. And later, the man who denied Jesus
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  before a servant girl stood publicly at Pentecost
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  and proclaimed Christ. Why? because the sifting
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  was not allowed to become the ending. Jesus had
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  already said, when you have turned back, strengthen
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  your brothers. Do you see it? Jesus was speaking
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  about Peter's restoration before Peter's failure
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  happened. That is divine intervention. God can
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  have restoration prepared before you even understand
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  the battle you are entering. And this brings
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  us back to something we discovered earlier. God
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  does not merely know what you are going through.
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  He knows what is coming. And sometimes his intervention
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  is already operating in tomorrow while you are
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  still living today. Let's examine part five.
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  What didn't happen? Maybe this is the question
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  we rarely ask. We spend so much time asking God
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  about what happened. Why did this happen? Why
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  did that door close? Why did I experience that
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  loss? Why did that relationship end? Why did
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  that season become so difficult? Those questions
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  are human. And sometimes God gives us answers.
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  Sometimes he does not. But perhaps gratitude
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  requires another question. What didn't happen?
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  What did God stop that I never saw? What conversation
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  changed because God intervened? What road did
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  he keep me from traveling? What danger passed
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  without touching me? What decision was reversed
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  somewhere I was not present? What plan collapsed
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  before reaching my door? What did the enemy intend
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  that God refused to permit? What prayer did somebody
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  pray for me at the exact moment I needed it?
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  without knowing why they felt compelled to pray.
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  How many times have angels been dispatched according
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  to God's purposes while I knew nothing about
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  it? How many times did God say, no father, we
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  may never know? And perhaps that is why eternity
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  will contain surprises. Maybe one day God will
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  show us not only the prayers he answered visibly,
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  but the dangers he prevented invisibly. Not only
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  the doors he opened, But the doors he closed,
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  not only the people he sent, but the people he
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  kept away. Not only the battles he helped us
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  win, but the battles he never allowed to reach
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  us. And perhaps we will discover that some of
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  the days we called ordinary were actually saturated
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  with mercy. You drove home safely, ordinary,
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  maybe mercy. You arrive late somewhere, frustrating.
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  Maybe mercy. A plan suddenly changed. Annoying.
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  Maybe mercy. A relationship never developed.
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  Disappointing. Maybe mercy. A door refused to
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  open no matter how hard you pushed. Confusing.
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  Maybe mercy. I am not saying that every inconvenience
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  is secretly a supernatural intervention. We should
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  be careful not to invent spiritual explanations
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  Scripture has not given us. But I am saying this.
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  Our inability to see God's activity does not
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  mean God is inactive. And Scripture gives us
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  enough evidence to know that God can work beyond
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  our awareness. Israel did not know about Balaam.
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  God did. Elisha's servant could not see the army.
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  God had already positioned it. Peter did not
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  understand the sifting ahead. Jesus had already
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  prayed. And maybe there are things concerning
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  you that you do not know, but God knows. Let's
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  conclude with this revelation. The God who goes
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  before you. This may be the revelation beneath
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  all of it. We often think of divine intervention
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  as God arriving when trouble arrives. But scripture
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  repeatedly describes God differently. He goes
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  before us. Deuteronomy says, the Lord himself
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  goes before you and will be with you. He will
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  never leave you nor forsake you. Think about
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  those words. He goes before you. That means when
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  you arrive tomorrow, God is not arriving with
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  you. He has already gone before you. When you
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  enter the room, he has gone before you. When
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  you face the conversation, he has gone before
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  you. When you enter the season you are afraid
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  of, he has gone before you. When you reach the
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  place you cannot yet see, he has gone before
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  you. Maybe that is why you don't need to know
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  everything ahead of you. Because the one carrying
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  you already knows the road. And maybe, This is
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  the mystery of divine intervention at its deepest
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  level. Sometimes God intervenes when you cry
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  out. Sometimes God intervenes before you cry
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  out. And sometimes God intervenes so completely
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  before the danger reaches you that you never
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  discover there was anything to cry about. So
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  tonight, perhaps our prayer should not only be,
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  Lord, thank you for what you have done. Maybe
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  we should also say Lord, thank you for what I
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  never saw. Thank you for the battles I never
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  knew existed. Thank you for the doors you closed
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  without explaining yourself. Thank you for the
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  dangers you prevented. Thank you for the conversations
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  you entered before my name was ever mentioned.
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  Thank you for the plans you overturned. Thank
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  you for the roads you redirected. Thank you for
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  the prayers you answered before I even knew what
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  to ask. Thank you for going before me. Thank
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  you for standing behind me. Thank you for surrounding
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  me. Thank you for carrying me. And thank you
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  for every divine intervention I will never know
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  happened. Because maybe the testimony of your
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  life is much bigger than the miracles you can
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  remember. Maybe there are entire chapters of
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  God's faithfulness. you never saw.