Being the Donkey

Have you ever felt like something was working against you?

So Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the officials of Moab. God's anger was kindled because he was going, and the angel of the LORD took his stand in the road as his adversary.  - Numbers 22: 21-22

In today's reading from Numbers, Balaam finds himself confronting God's angel without realizing it.  He was going where God did not want him to go.

How do we know where the obstacles we encounter come from?  Are they challenges that God will help us overcome, or are they messages from God to turn back?

In Balaam's case, it was his donkey who knew, and rather than try to understand what kept the donkey from moving forward, Balaam beat the donkey.

Have you ever been that donkey?

Have there been times when you felt you were being guided by God's will and those around you failed to hear or see what you could?

There were plenty of times in my career when I felt I could clearly see what others failed to see, and I would speak up, though it didn't usually help.  Like the donkey, I was accused of being an obstacle, of stalling or failing to follow instructions.

In Balaam's case, when the donkey spoke, he listened, for when is it that a donkey can speak?

Balaam got the message because the circumstances were unusual.  Only then did he see that he was foolish to punish his donkey who was trying to show him the way.

The message for us donkeys in this might be to find an unusual way to show others what we see.  Jesus used parables to get people to think outside the box.  We need to let the world know what we see we believe is true, even if it is outrageous or strange.

So, donkeys of the world, get creative with your messages.  Find ways to structure them so others see them as their own insights and realizations.  Only then will being the donkey pay off.

More to come...