That night God came to Balaam and said, “Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you. Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the Moabite officials. But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, it turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat it to get it back on the road. Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path through the vineyards, with walls on both sides. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat the donkey again. Then the angel of the Lord moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat it with his staff. Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times? ”Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now. ”The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?” “No,” he said. Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown. The angel of the Lord asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me. The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared it. ”Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back. ”The angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with Balak’s officials. When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the Moabite town on the Arnon border, at the edge of his territory. Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not send you an urgent summons? Why didn’t you come to me? Am I really not able to reward you?” “Well, I have come to you now,” Balaam replied. “But I can’t say whatever I please. I must speak only what God puts in my mouth. Numbers 22:20-38
Balaam chose to disobey God's direction.
The donkey, in what would seem, typical donkey fashion was refusing to cooperate and do what the man had planned
But the donkey saw what Balaam couldn't.
1.
If you had a donkey I am sure you would get frustrated and angry with it at times, but if it started speaking to you...would you continue to be angry or get angrier??? I can't imagine I would...shocked, amazed, maybe even fear, but angry...I don't think so.
Balaam's anger, at that point, seemed to have taken control and even something as shocking as a talking animal didn't make him stop and think.
Angry that his plan was being interrupted, He knew that he had made a choice to leave outside of the plan that God had directed. Angry enough that he said he was about to kill the donkey in rage.
I think I might have either looked around for Candid Camera, or fallen on my face and prayed to God wondering what was happening,
Sometimes don't we have a plan in mind....and we head in that direction? We stubbornly refused to move to the right or left...."This is what I want, what I planned."
We get angry when things hinder that plan, maybe just anger with the situation, or maybe with the individuals who seem to be an interruption.
I don't want my stubbornness and pride to keep me from seeing an angel of the LORD!!
A lesson a long time ago is that God has my schedule, and my plans.
Not that I don't make lists and plans. BUT I pray each day that I leave room for GOD.
Now, I can get distracted completely on my own! But there have been times when before "my list" even gets started something comes up; someone needs my help, a friend needs an ear or a shoulder, something that I know is bigger or more important than my list.
Take CoffeeTime, for example:
I planned on it being published every Monday morning, and look, today is Wednesday!
Sometimes I believe it gets published in God's timing, for whatever reason, God can use it whenever I I get it out there, but I know that His timing is best!
Daily lists not touched because someone was in need before the first item was done,
Bible study lesson prepared for weeks before it was able to be studied, but discovering that was the exact time it was needed,
(added last) blogs being delayed so that a particular song could be shared with it!
To get frustrated and angry with the things that seem to pop up and block my way isn't productive and doesn't allow for hearing what God has.
The last statement in the passage... Balaam replied. “But I can’t say whatever I please. I must speak only what God puts in my mouth.
I believe Balaam got the message! "I am only going to say what God tells me to!"
Today,
I pray I don't argue with things that seem to block the plans that I have made. I take a step back, pray and let God show me where He needs me to be, what He needs me to be doing.
As we make plans, continually pray that God make His known and that ours are flexible enough to accommodate when God moves, and that we are humble enough to accept that God knows better than we do!
Before I finished this blog my brother-in-law shared this video with me (literally 5 minutes ago) and it just seems to flow with what is being said! God's timing!
🙏I pray that we are available for such a time as this❤
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