Numbers 22:28-29 Then God gave speech to the donkey. She said to Balaam: “What have I ever done to you that you have beat me these three times?” Balaam said, “Because you’ve been playing games with me! If I had a sword I would have killed you by now.”

Wow, Balaam, the prophet, was furious. We would probably be furious too if our transport, which should be taking us to a very important meeting, was so bad. First, his donkey ran off the road. Then it pushed up against a wall and crushed Balaam’s foot, and finally it simply lay down in the road.

However, Balaam couldn’t see what the donkey saw. The donkey saw the angel of the Lord in front of her, and, of course, it scared her to death. Therefore, she tried three times to protect herself.

God then let the donkey speak so that it could tell Balaam what was going on. God had sent the angel to stop Balaam from making a big mistake. You see, King Balak had sent for him because he feared the powerful Israelites. He wanted Balaam to curse the Israelites.

Balaam’s eyes opened. He saw the angel and heard the donkey speaking. He realised that he was on his way to doing something wrong, and that God was putting a stop to it. Four times King Balak tried to get him to curse the people, but instead Balaam blessed God’s people.

God also very often puts stop signs in front of us. Then we get so angry.  We want to hit and kick and try to charge through the closed door.

It’s easy to get frustrated when you’re stuck behind a truck. But I’ve learned to just relax and wait. The truth is, I can’t see what lies ahead. Those few lost minutes might be the very thing saving me from a terrible accident.

It’s not easy when something slows us down, but sometimes we just have to wait calmly. Maybe it’s God who’s stopping us from hurting ourselves. God is involved with His children, and He takes care of us every day. Sometimes it may take a stubborn donkey to stop us.

Prayer
Almighty Father, thank you for still being with me and helping me. Help me slow down and be sensitive to your guidance …

Questions
Where in my life am I currently experiencing “resistance” that frustrates me?
Could it be that God is protecting me by stopping me?
How do I respond when things don’t work out as I planned?

Do this now
Think of something that recently didn’t work out the way you wanted and write it down.
Ask God in prayer to show you if He might have been protecting you.
Choose today to move more slowly in making one decision and intentionally wait for God’s guidance before you act.