“And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one [unified] people, and they all have the same language. This is only the beginning of what they will do [in rebellion against Me], and now no evil thing they imagine they can do will be impossible for them.”
When our daughters were young we used to put up barriers for them. Child door locks for cabinets, little fences to close off certain parts of the house, and other ways parents used to keep them safe from harm. Sure enough, they all had to test the boundaries. They would try to open that cabinet or knock the fence down until it was clear that the barrier was not going anywhere.
In chapter 11 of Genesis, we have the story of the tower of Babel. This happened near present day Babylon. All the people of the earth, at that time, had the same language because everyone was a descendent of either Shem, Ham, or Japheth. The Bible records the people settled in the plain of Shinar or modern-day Babylon. They wanted to build a huge tower to make a name for themselves. (Remember that the fall of man had already happened and evil filled the hearts of everyone.) This tower was largely a selfish act, one that displeased the Lord. The reasoning for building the tower was also so that they won’t be scattered over the face of the earth.
If you have seen the riots that happened in 2020 it would seem as if evil loves to draw people in to participate. This was happening in the plain of Shinar. God, being the parent in the situation, saw what the evil nature of man could accomplish and how they would mount an evil offensive towards the things of the Lord. Therefore, the Lord confused their languages and the building of the tower stopped. From man’s perspective, this was not good; but from where the Lord was sitting, it needed to be done so that His creation would not drive themselves away from the Lord with no hope of returning.
You see, all the childproofing you do as a parent is for the safety of the child, not an evil attempt to kill the fun of the young ones. Too often we view things the Lord removes from our lives as attempts to kill our fun or ruin our relationships. What if God has been childproofing your surroundings and keeping you safe from an even greater evil that may scar you for life? We all build our own tower of Babel and when the Lord confuses things we have a choice. We can either get mad at God and drive ourselves even farther away from Him, or we can realize that the Lord may be orchestrating things to keep us safe and away from an evil we don’t see.
Parents don’t bend to toddlers and do what they want, instead parents restrict toddlers to keep them in safe zones so they won’t get hurt. They may not like it, but in the end, it is for their own good. Today, reflect on your situation. Is the Lord moving you on or through something? Has a relationship got confusing and tough to move forward? The Lord may be trying to keep you from something you don’t see. Pray that the Lord shows you His path for you and humble yourself so you can realize when the Lord has said, “You are done here! Move on!”
Let It Go 
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