I was getting really tired
at work today, so I needed a great story to perk me up and make me smile. I
found this article I wrote in 2015. I think it’ll make you smile too.
BALAAM'S ASS AND MORE THAN
ONE CHANCE TO GET IT RIGHT
Jane and I walked into the second-hand store
looking for an Amplified Bible. As we came to the book section, there was a big
white Bible laying out on the edge, separate from the other shelved books. I
said, “Oh look, there’s Joyce Meyer’s Bible.” At that moment it didn’t even
occur to me that Joyce uses the Amplified all the time. There it was, laid out
so nicely for us, but I somehow didn’t make the connection. We started to walk
away.
Then two strangers came up looking for a
particular book and began asking a lot of questions. They were a little
annoying, but we were polite and they “happened” to keep us there just long
enough that Jane “happened” to look down and see the spine of Joyce’s Bible. As
plain as could be, it read: “Amplified Version.” Sometimes God puts an
answer right in front of us and we still don’t see it. But because He knows
what’s in our hearts, He gives us more than one chance and comes at us in any
way possible.
This is our blessed assurance. We don’t want
to miss God, but if we do, God has a promise we can claim beforehand for those
times when we miss or ignore the revelation. Second Corinthians 5:14 says: “The love
of Christ constraineth us.” The word “constrain” means to bind together or draw
together. He’s relentless and keeps coming back, like when you want someone to
come for dinner and you keep asking them and try all kinds of ways to get them
to just give in and say, “Okay, I’ll come.”
Parents know that children have this
constraining thing down to an uncanny science when they want something. They
come at you from every imaginable angle to get it. Jesus does the same with us
so that we listen to Him.
Throughout the Bible there are many examples
of the Lord constraining His people. One of my favorites is the record of
Balaam and the ass. It’s found in Numbers 22 and is the funniest of Bible
stories.
Balak, the king of Moab, knew Balaam as a
prophet. If he could get Balaam to prophesy against the Israelites in the
upcoming battle, he would win. So King Balak sent his men to Balaam with a nice
bribe.
Balaam told the men he’d ask God about what to do and let them know in the morning. God not only forbid him to go, but He forbid him to prophesy against Israel. But King Balak wasn’t giving up so easily. He sent more prestigious men to Balaam with the promise of promotion, a place of honor in his kingdom and the message, “I will pay you very well and do whatever you tell me. Just come and curse these people for me!”
Balaam
decided to ask God one more time if he could go. Balaam wanted to go. He wanted
the promotion, the prestige and the money. Everything good, right? Surely God
would bless this, right? This makes me think of how many times we try to make
God bless what we’ve already decided we’re going to do. Not a good way to
live and there are consequences.
God
gave Balaam another chance and said, “If the men come to call thee, rise up,
and go with them.” God said, “if the men call,” but Balaam skipped right
over the “if” part and “rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went
with the princes of Moab.” God was angry with Balaam’s action, but because of
God’s persistent love, He gave Balaam another chance to do the right thing. He
sent an angel to try to stop him from making a big mistake:
“And God's anger
was kindled because he went: and the angel of the Lord stood in the way for an
adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants
were with him.
“And the ass saw
the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and
the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote
the ass, to turn her into the way.
“But the angel of
the Lord stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a
wall on that side. And
when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she thrust herself unto the wall, and
crushed Balaam's foot against the wall: and he smote her again.
“And the angel of
the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn
either to the right hand or to the left. And when the ass saw
the angel of the Lord, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam's anger was
kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff” (Num. 22:22-27)
This next part is hilarious:
“And the Lord
opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, ‘What have I done unto
thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?
Wouldn’t you think Balaam would wake up by
now? After all, his ass was talking to
him! But Balaam was so outrageously angry that he actually started talking back
to the ass and carried on a whole conversation.
“And Balaam said
unto the ass, ‘Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine
hand, for now would I kill thee.
“And the ass said
unto Balaam, ‘Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was
thine unto this day? Was I ever wont to do so unto thee?’ And he said, ‘Nay’”
(vv. 29-30)
Then finally God
got through to Balaam:
“Then the Lord
opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the
way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat
on his face.
“And the angel of
the Lord said unto him, ‘Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three
times? Behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before
me: And
the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: Unless she had turned from
me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive.
“And Balaam said
unto the angel of the Lord,’ I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest
in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back
again’” (vv. 31-34).
I know we usually do our best to listen for
the Lord’s guiding and then follow through on His instructions, but isn’t it
great to know that when we miss it, God will go to the farthest ends, (even if
it takes talking through the mouth of an ass), to constrain us and compel us to
come back to Him?
In the bookstore Christ worked through two
strangers to constrain us and they kept us at the bookshelf until we saw the
desired Amplified Bible right there in plain sight.
God constrained Balaam through a talking
animal. What an amazing Lord we have.
Question: “Why was the ass smarter than the
man?” Answer: “Because she could see what was right in front of her.”
Let’s pray that we will open our eyes to see
what the Lord puts right in front of us and thank God that He will give us more
than one chance to get it right.
Love, Carolyn
WINGS
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