Inner Thoughts With Abba

Walking home from church, I took the opportunity to listen to my bible. I listened to a passage about Balaam and Balak. This text taught me a vital lesson that I desperately needed at the time: the word of God is both Spirit and life.

The Moabite king Balak, who saw the Israelites as a threat, asked Balaam to curse the Israelites to weaken them and give him the advantage over them. Balaam was known for the potency of his blessings and curses upon an individual. Initially, the Lord commanded him not to go, but the people insisted, so he returned to inquire of the Lord. The Lord asked him to go, but only to do what He told him.

The following morning, Balaam arose and began his journey to meet Balak. Now, keep in mind that God told Balaam to just do what God commanded him to do; he did not ask the Lord if it was time for him to leave that morning. God was not pleased with Balaam, but he was unaware.

On his way, his donkey behaved strangely because it was attempting to evade the Angel of the Lord, who was positioned in front of them with a sword preparing to kill Balaam. The donkey tried to sidestep the angel, but in the process, it took a different turn and injured Balaam’s foot. The donkey eventually reached a spot where it had nowhere farther to go and halted. Every time the donkey behaved strangely; Balaam became so enraged with the animal that he gave it severe beatings.

Stay with me, please. When the donkey stopped travelling to avoid the Angel’s sword, Balaam beat it severely. The Lord unlocked the donkey’s mouth to talk. “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?” the donkey questioned Balaam. “Have I not been your donkey from the beginning, one that you still ride today? Is this something I’ve always done to you? Balaam answered, “No.”

I’m not even going talk about Balaam’s reaction to a talking donkey as if it were normal. If I were the one, I’d run first to figure out what’s going on. Anyway, let’s get back to the original account. The Lord caused Balaam to see The Angel. The Angel warned Balaam that if the donkey hadn’t turned aside, he would have killed him.

This is the lesson that this teaches me: the Lord may have given you visions or asked you to do certain things, but He wants you to walk together towards your fullness. God typically provides you with instructions or directions for each stage because He wants you to complete the task together, thus He normally only provides the destination and not the complete path there. Most of us make the mistake of setting out on this vision or mission with our own human power or understanding, which could lead us down a path that God has not intended for us.

By God’s mercy, He halts that path for some of us to redirect us to doing things with Him, but we get angry and frustrated because things are not going as we want. Whereas all God is doing is keeping us from going in the wrong direction and running on our own.

Now in Balaam’s story, the instruction was still the same even after meeting with the Angel, he was to go meet Balak but to only say what God asked him to say. The vision you have is very correct but what you need to do is carry God along.

I want to encourage you that If you are feeling stuck like nothing is moving forward towards the vision God has given to you especially things that have worked well in the past, perhaps you need to pause and ensure that you have received the “How” from God and you are journeying with Him.

You may have read this and haven’t accepted Jesus into your heart or feel like you’ve lost your way in the busyness of life.  I would like you to say this short prayer: “Lord Jesus, I acknowledge you as my Lord and personal saviour. I repent of my sinful ways. I accept your gift of salvation. I ask that you come into my heart and make it Your dwelling place.  Lord Jesus, teach me your ways so that I may know you intimately”.

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