Have you ever experienced this?
You come up with what you think is a white-hot idea.
You spend many long hours planning how you’re going to implement this new savvy astonishing brainstorm of yours.
You’re filled with fire-breathing excitement and enthusiasm.
You’re ready to blast out of the starting gate!
However, the day you actually get started, everything, AND I MEAN EVERYTHING, falls apart piece by piece like the proverbial house built on a foundation of shifty sand.
During your attempts to carry out your plan, the bad luck you experience is so unusual and frequent, you begin to wonder if it might not be of supernatural origin.
If you ever have an experience like this, I’ve got some advice for you and it’s based on this story of Balaam and his talking donkey we’ve been studying here.
If in spite of your carefully laid out plans and best efforts, things don’t seem to be working out, it’s time to step back and reevaluate if you’re really on the right path or not from God’s perspective.
I’m not talking about the usual obstacles one is expected to face when pursuing a goal whether it’s trying to achieve a certain sales target or get in shape or whatever.
In those situations, good ‘ole persistence over a sustained period of time should do the trick.
No, I’m talking about weird obstacles that are so unusual, most normal folks would stop and take pause.
And I think a “talking donkey” would definitely qualify as a “weird obstacle“.
This is one of the big lessons we learn from the story of Balaam and his talking donkey.
Unfortunately for Balaam, he was so spiritually blind, none of the roadblocks the Lord placed in his path penetrated his thick skull.
Actually, the Lord did more than just place roadblocks in Balaam’s path.
He flat out told him in clear no uncertain terms where he stood with regards to him going with Balak and his men to curse Israel.
Read verse 32.
“The angel of Adonai said to him, “Why did you hit your donkey three times like that? I have come out here to bar your way, because you are rushing to oppose me.”
You can’t get much more clearer than that.
Yet how does Balaam respond?
“I have sinned.
I didn’t know that you were
standing on the road to block me.
Now, therefore,
if what I am doing displeases you,
I will go back.”
On the surface, Balaam is mouthing the right words, but what he’s really thinking in his heart is quite different.
Here’s the thing.
Balaam is just brown-nosing (gosh I swear this is soooo oriental).
He doesn’t really mean what he says.
He is just saying the right thing for the purpose of being able to manipulate later on.
It’s like he’s kinda saying…
“I’m so sorry for taking this route.”
“So maybe I should take another route”.
Of course, the Angel of the Lord knows what’s in Balaam’s heart and continues to allow him to exercise his free will.
The angel tells Balaam he can continue on with his journey towards Balam but with the caveat he is not to say anything he isn’t told to say.
Again, the big takeaway here is…
…let’s say you’ve really wanted something or wanted to do something like quit your job, sell your house, or propose marriage to someone or whatever and you experience unusual roadblocks.
The roadblock may be a good (and well-trusted) friend or maybe a wife or husband who tells you should definitely NOT do whatever you’re thinking of doing.
Now, I’m not saying in every case you should treat an objection or an obstacle as a sign to quit whatever it was you were thinking of doing.
No, what I’m saying is it might be a good idea to step back and prayerfully reevaluate the situation.
The Lord may be trying to save you from a lot of pain and heartache.
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