PrayerPoints ~ Messages & Messengers ~ March 22

If God can use a donkey to deliver a message might He be able to use anyone or anything to get His message to you?

Balaam’s Donkey

Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab.  But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the LORD stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat her to get her back on the road.

Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between two vineyards, with walls on both sides. ²⁵ When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat her again.

Then the angel of the LORD moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left.  When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat her with his staff.  Then the LORD opened the donkey’s mouth, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?”

Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.”

The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?”

“No,” he said.

Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown.

The angel of the LORD asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me. The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared her.”

Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back.” Numbers 22:21-34 NIV

[Disclaimer: The correlation you are about to read might be a little stretch and my intent is not to offend anyone.]

I confess I have been in churches where I have not been particularly fond of the methods of the ‘message’ deliverer.  Quite often those are the days that God reminds me that His Word stands alone, even if I am not crazy about the style it is presented in or even the person who presents it. I don’t think  anyone in Scripture had the opportunity to choose their message or their messenger. Living in the USA, we are accustomed to many choices and so it is natural we expect to choose our message and our messenger along with everything else we choose.

If it is God’s Word you are hearing, don’t shoot the messenger and don’t shoot the message because of the messenger! Consider where your heart is first. If it is God’s Word, then it can stand alone regardless of who speaks it.

Thankful for the many Messengers of Jesus I have been blessed to know,

Liz