Be The Donkey
Sometimes God will use something completely absurd to get your attention and teach you. In the Bible, God taught some powerful lessons through bizarre circumstances. One of these was when He allowed a donkey to deliver a message to a prophet.
In Numbers 22:7-13 we see the Israelites camped and ready to take the promised land. The king of the nation Moab was terrified, and asked a man named Balaam to curse the nation of Israel in return for money. Balaam refused, but the king was persistent and continued to ask. Balaam agrees to travel with the king’s men, and in a bizarre turn of events, the donkey he’s riding on stubbornly refuses to go the direction he is asking. The donkey speaks to him like a man, and an angel of the Lord reprimands Balaam for his behavior.
Donkey Principle #1: God will use anything or anyone to warn or protect you. He will bring His purpose and plan in any way He wants to get your attention and help you see His purposes.
We see another powerful story about a donkey in Matthew 21:1-6. Jesus tells two of His disciples to go into a village where He knows a donkey and her colt are tied to a tree. He tells them to say, “The Lord has need of it,” if anyone asked why they were taking the donkey.
Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of that colt, while most kings of the day would have ridden on stallions or gold carriages. This shows His humility and desire to do things differently than we might expect. The Lord needs YOU, to allow Him to ride on your back, so He gets the glory and praise on earth. Our attitude should be “How can I serve you Jesus?” not “How can you serve me?”.
Donkey Principle #2: God will bring opportunities for you to carry Jesus on your back, not for attention or personal applause, but for His glory.
Gutsy Faith Challenge: Can you be a donkey? Can you look at nothing but the road in front of you while carrying Jesus on your back? This is the way of the saint who loves Him more than they love life itself.
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