I wanted to begin by writing about the culture I grew up in, as though it were the only culture that demanded loyalty at the cost of truth. But then I realized this is not limited to one family, one people, or one background. This is the way of a fallen world.
In a fallen world, we are often told to agree with the tribe and religion we were assigned at birth, or risk being exiled from them. Sometimes, loyalty is demanded at the expense of honesty. Sometimes family loyalty hides behind secrets, lies, and deception. And when someone becomes a truth-teller, they may be treated as though they are the problem. They may be exiled, ostracized, rejected, or even treated as if they never existed.
But God sees.
The Lord brought this to my attention as I read Micah 6:5:
“My people, remember what Balak, king of Moab, plotted and what Balaam son of Beor, answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the LORD.”
At first, this verse did not fully touch my heart. I read it, but I did not feel its weight until after a conversation with someone dear to me. Something hurt my heart deeply and brought me to tears.
We talked about sacrifice, how Love is shown when someone lays down their own plans for another. For instance, I am out of town. A dear friend is checking on my plants. A neighbor noticed a towing tag on my car. He took the time to take a picture and send it to me. I immediately called the leasing office, but I was in the middle of my granddaughter’s graduation; I was getting stressed. I called my friend, and she and her husband went out of their way to move my car. Everything worked out. Yes, I was frustrated, but God taught me some valuable lessons here, in two words, “Sacrificial Love,” or three words, “Love in Action.” My friends are taking the time to help me out.
And there, in my tears, I began to understand something about the heart of God. He is faithful, He is merciful, He is kind, He is a giver of all good things, and I remembered.
When I said, in essence, “Remember when,” I was not trying to accuse. I was trying to remind. I was trying to point back to Love. I was trying to say that people do not sacrifice for nothing. People sacrifice because they Love. Sacrifice is a verb; Love in action.
Then the Lord turned that same truth back toward my own heart.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son.”
God did not give leftovers. He did not give what cost Him nothing. He gave His perfect Son as a sacrifice for the sins of the world, so that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life.
God sacrificed His Son for my sins.
And yet, sometimes I forget and fall back into the old patterns: that I am alone and that I have to do things alone. Or being afraid to ask for help because the pain of rejection is unbearable. But I remembered the times Jesus was with me.
The Creator of the universe does not need anything from us. He is not lacking. He is not dependent on our praise to remain God. Yet somehow, in His Love, we can still grieve Him when we live entitled, ungrateful, and forgetful of all He has done.
This reflection is not only about how someone hurt me. Maybe it is about that too. But my tears brought me to a holy place where I also had to hear the words, “Remember when.”
Remember when God brought me out of slavery to sin.
Remember when God set me free from the sins of my youth.
Remember when God took the ashes of my past and began to make something beautiful.
Remember when He carried me through what should have destroyed me.
Remember when He stayed faithful, even when I was weak.
Remember when Jesus hung on the Cross, and His sacrifice was not small, cheap, or minimized, no matter how casually religious people may speak of it.
There is so much I need to be grateful for.
As countless as the stars in the universe, so is the faithfulness of God. We cannot count all His blessings in a single breath. We cannot fully know the measure of His mercy on this side of heaven. But by faith, we can know this: His goodness has been here all along.
So Today, Lord, help me remember.
Help me remember not only what others have forgotten but also what I have forgotten. Help me remember Your mercy, Your rescue, Your sacrifice, and Your faithfulness.
When the pain of rejection rises, teach me to remember the Cross.
When loyalty to people becomes more important than loyalty to truth, teach me to stand with You.
When my heart grieves over what has been lost, teach me to give thanks for what You have redeemed.
And when I am tempted to forget, whisper again to my soul:
“Remember when.”
Prayer of Repentance
Father, forgive me for the times I have forgotten what You have done for me. Forgive me for every entitled thought, every ungrateful moment, and every place in my heart where pain has made me blind to Your faithfulness.
Forgive me for minimizing the sacrifice of Jesus, even unintentionally, by living as though Your mercy is ordinary. Lord, cleanse my heart of bitterness, pride, resentment, and forgetfulness.
Teach me to remember rightly. Teach me to grieve honestly without becoming hardened. Teach me to tell the truth with Love, to remain loyal to You above every tribe, every family system, and every false peace.
Thank You for bringing me out of sin. Thank You for setting me free. Thank You for taking the ashes of my life and making something beautiful.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
“People do not sacrifice for nothing. People sacrifice because they love.”
Balak’s plot was hidden from Israel, but not hidden from God
This is why Micah 6:5 touched my heart so deeply. God told His people to remember Balak’s plot and Balaam’s answer because Israel may not have seen everything happening behind the scenes, but God did.
Balak wanted Israel to be cursed. He wanted their blessing turned into defeat. He wanted to weaken what God had strengthened. But every time Balaam opened his mouth to curse, God turned the curse into a blessing.
That ministered to me.
Because sometimes we do not know what has been spoken about us behind closed doors. We do not always know what has been plotted, twisted, hidden, or whispered. Sometimes loyalty to a family, culture, or tribe demands silence, even when truth is needed. And when we refuse to bow to deception, we may be treated like the enemy.
But Micah 6:5 reminds me that God sees the plot and hears the answer.
Balak plotted harm, but God answered with protection.
Balaam was hired to curse, but God made him speak blessings.
And maybe that is why the Lord says, “Remember.” Not because He wants us to stay trapped in the pain of what people did, but because He wants us to recognize what He was doing while they were doing it.
Remember when they tried to curse you, but God kept you.
Remember when they tried to erase you, but God still called you by name.
Remember when they tried to make you feel rejected, but God reminded you that you were chosen in Him.
Remember when the secret plot did not have the final word because the Lord had already spoken blessing.
So when I think about loyalty, I have to ask myself: loyalty to whom?
Loyalty to silence, or loyalty to truth?
Loyalty to a tribe, or loyalty to God?
Loyalty to fear, or loyalty to the One who turned the curse into a blessing?
Lord, help me remember rightly. Help me remember not only what hurt me, but how You protected me. Help me remember not only what was plotted, but what You answered. Help me remember that no curse is stronger than Your blessing, and no hidden scheme is stronger than Your righteous acts.
Prayer of Repentance
Father, forgive me for the times I have remembered the wound more than I remembered Your protection. Forgive me for rehearsing what people did without giving equal honor to what You have done.
Forgive me for every place where bitterness, grief, fear, or rejection has tried to shape my memory more than Your faithfulness. Cleanse my heart of resentment and teach me to remember with truth, humility, and gratitude.
Lord, I repent for forgetting the Cross, where the greatest Love overcame the greatest curse. Thank You, Jesus, who became a curse for us so that we could receive the blessing of life in Him.
Help me stay loyal to You above every false loyalty, every hidden plot, every family secret, and every demand to remain silent when truth is needed.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Works Cited / Scripture References
The Holy Bible, New International Version. Biblica, 2011.
OpenAI. ChatGPT. Biblical explanation, devotional editing, and citation-formatting assistance for “Loyalty.” 16 June 2026.
Scripture References
Micah 6:5
Numbers 22–24
Numbers 23:8
Numbers 23:20
Numbers 23:23
Numbers 24:9
John 3:16
Galatians 3:13
Isaiah 61:3