“Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the LORD; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear. (...)" 2 Chronicles 24:19 (KJV)

Beloved in Christ,

About 18 years ago, while I was still single, I met with a girl whom I made up my mind to marry. In my human eyes, she was what I could expect from the partner I wanted to share my life with. However, on the Sunday following my resolution, the message of the day was preached with power and authority by the guest Pastor Cyprien Otoglo. In the mass prayer that followed the preaching, the Holy Spirit clearly said: "My son, the path you are on is wrong. There is a great chasm ahead of you; turn back before it is too late." I knew the message was mine and immediately obeyed that spiritual warning. With God’s help, I speedily terminated that relationship. That was how I avoided a serious mistake that could have undermined my life and diverted me from my ordained destiny.

Like me, God is warning many. Yes, you get it well: He often takes care to warn his children of the evil to come. However, because we are generally more interested in talking to Him than listen to Him, because we are most often overwhelmed by the worries of everyday life, our spiritual senses remain in "off" mode while He goes through a multitude of ways to alert us. Take the case of Samson, in Judges 14:5-6, we learn that he was going down to Timnath with his parents to meet his wife-to-be’s family. But a young lion roared against Samson and he killed him and told his parents nothing about it. Some Bible commentators see that episode of his life as a diving warning to Samson about his project.

We find another typical example in Numbers 22, where, to prevent Balaam from continuing his journey, the end result of which was to curse Israel, the Lord sent his angel to stand in his way. The donkey, which first saw the angel, resisted Balaam's orders and finally spoke after Balaam had beaten it thrice. The Lord later opened Balaam's eyes and he saw the angel who delivered the following message to him: "Behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me” (Num. 22: 32 KJV).

May the Lord open our eyes to perceive His warning signs and may He fill us with the desire to willingly obey him.