As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”

And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”

Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”

So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?”

Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank. – Acts 9:3-9 NKJV. 

Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” – Numbers 22:28 NKJV. 

Nowadays we often receive private messages via social media platforms. Nothing unusual about that in the 21st Century. However, God has been sending private personalized messages since the dawn of time. Sometimes the messages are very blunt and obvious as in being struck blind as was Saul of Tarsus. Hearing a donkey speak in a human voice as did Balaam is also very to the point and undeniably had to be a message from God. 

In these days, God has become more subtle with His private messages; although He can be very pointed, and blunt if the need arises. This past week I received one of those subtle private messages from God that only I would understand. It was a three-part message about the same thing. The first part was my encountering a person with whom I was able to share a part of my testimony about what God had done in my life in the past. The second part was while watching a Christian movie the same day in the evening and seeing a related event unfold. The third part of the message was discovering that the Bible reading for the next day was from a passage of Scripture that God used to extend His call upon my life. So, the entire private message would read: God has forgiven me, He has not forgotten about me, and He has renewed His call upon my life. His call is still without repentance. In other words, God hasn’t changed His mind. 

Whenever, we receive a message from God it requires a response. Will we go forward with God in obedience, or will we turn away? We know what the apostle Paul decided as he gave his whole heart to following the Lord. Balaam was more like a split decision, you could say it was a half-hearted decision. Sometimes Balaam was obedient and sometimes he was not. 

Has God sent you a private message? What will your response be? Will you respond with your whole heart or with just half of your heart? I know I want to respond with my whole heart.