I am not sure if you have ever had an experience where you saw something bad ahead, not in your life but in the life of a friend. They were to infatuated to see it, to focused on having their own way to see it, to busy having fun to see it, for whatever reason there was problem up ahead and it was big, but your friend couldn't see it. I have. You tried to warn them. You tried to tell them and even show them, but they kept moving forward as though you had never said a word. When I read the story of Balaam and his donkey in Numbers 22:21-34, it reminded me of just this kind of situation.



When I read verses 28-33, I thought about myself and my friendships because I am sure yours are not like mine. I am not suggesting that any of us our donkeys, but the words of the donkey rang loudly in my ears. The scripture says, 28 Then the Lord gave the donkey the ability to speak. ?What have I done to you that deserves your beating me three times?? it asked Balaam. 29 ?You have made me look like a fool!? Balaam shouted. ?If I had a sword with me, I would kill you!? 30 ?But I am the same donkey you have ridden all your life,? the donkey answered. ?Have I ever done anything like this before?? ?No,? Balaam admitted. 31 Then the Lord opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the roadway with a drawn sword in his hand. Balaam bowed his head and fell face down on the ground before him. 32 ?Why did you beat your donkey those three times?? the angel of the Lord demanded. ?Look, I have come to block your way because you are stubbornly resisting me. 33 Three times the donkey saw me and shied away; otherwise, I would certainly have killed you by now and spared the donkey.? This scripture comes after the donkey has repeatedly appeared to be disobedient to Balaam. He has done everything he could to stop Balaam from continuing down a path that he, the donkey, could see would lead to destruction.

How many times have you or I been headed down a path that we thought was the right one but later learned that it was all wrong? It was what our flesh wanted because it promised prestige, money or made our flesh feel good. In the scripture Balaam found himself going down a path that he believed God had established for him. As he began to move forward he did so on the back of the donkey that he had ridden for many years. When I thought about the donkey, I identified him as one of Balaam's trusted friends. He would have been the same as one of the friends we grew up with and would have trusted with our lives. The ones whose opinions we would trust. Our Pastor described this type of friend as one that you would listen too. He was carrying Balaam, many of us have carried some friends on our backs when they could not stand on their own for a time. In the story the donkey began to act strangely. Once he bolted off the road, once he tried to squeeze by a space that was to small and crushed Balaam's foot and once he laid down on the ground under Balaam refusing to move. Each time the donkey acted strangely Balaam beat him.

As I thought about the situation with the donkey, I thought about some of my own relationships. Times when I have either been the donkey that was trying to warn my friend or Balaam who was dead set on doing what I believed was right in my own sight. If I am honest I have been on both sides. The relationship I thought I had to have and all of people God placed in my life knew that was not what God had for me, I just couldn't see it. When we are in the place of Balaam our hearing gets bad and we often cannot see what God is trying to show us through the very people He has placed in our lives to provide protection, direction, support, encouragement and to hold us accountable. Those that sometimes see danger in our future when we cannot. Maybe you have never had that friend in your life, but I have. Those are the friends that pray for you and try to drag you out of the situation kicking and screaming. Those are the friends that can hear from the Lord and can speak a word of warning to you. The people we sometimes ignore, because if we are honest we just don't want to hear it because our minds are already made up and they are not saying what we want to hear.

In verses 28 and 30 God allowed the donkey to speak. Doesn't he sound like those friends that are just looking out for our well being and we didn't realize that the friend was just trying to protect us from us, so we beat them down verbally, physically, spiritually, emotionally and relationally, or worse than that we rejected them and their friendship. In some cases we put them out of our lives for the sake of a fly by night relationship. Okay, maybe I am the only one that has done that.

Maybe, just maybe God has revealed something to your friend that you can't see, because of your own desire to do what you want to do. That person made you feel good, the job seemed like it was the one that was going to get you to the place you want to be, but neither of them is the thing God has for you. Listen to your friend and ask God to give you a clear revelation if what they are telling you is true or not. Don't automatically rule it out especially if you have a history with that person like Balaam did with his donkey. Ask yourself a couple of questions-Can I trust this person and do I? Have they ever done anything to hurt me in the past? If you can and do trust them and they have never done anything to hurt you, be careful if you are being encouraged not to listen to them. Ask God to open your eyes and allow you to see what is real and what is not. Don't lose a friend or beat up on them because you are trying to get your own way. Remember that God puts people in our lives for a reason. They are on the outside looking in and may be able to see something that you can't, something that the enemy has blinded you too. The enemy does not want you to reach the destiny that God has for you so he will and does send distractions, your friend might be able to see that thing that is taking and keeping you off track. Trust that He knows why and He is working it out for your good. If you find yourself in the position of the donkey, don't give up on your friend and most of all don't give up on God. He is still in control and He will do just what He wants to do with your friend Balaam.

Scripture:

Numbers 22:21-34:

Balaam and His Donkey

21 So the next morning Balaam got up, saddled his donkey, and started off with the Moabite officials. 22 But God was angry that Balaam was going, so he sent the angel of the Lord to stand in the road to block his way. As Balaam and two servants were riding along, 23 Balaam's donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand. The donkey bolted off the road into a field, but Balaam beat it and turned it back onto the road. 24 Then the angel of the Lord stood at a place where the road narrowed between two vineyard walls. 25 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it tried to squeeze by and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall. So Balaam beat the donkey again. 26 Then the angel of the Lord moved farther down the road and stood in a place too narrow for the donkey to get by at all. 27 This time when the donkey saw the angel, it lay down under Balaam. In a fit of rage Balaam beat the animal again with his staff. 28 Then the Lord gave the donkey the ability to speak. ?What have I done to you that deserves your beating me three times?? it asked Balaam. 29 ?You have made me look like a fool!? Balaam shouted. ?If I had a sword with me, I would kill you!? 30 ?But I am the same donkey you have ridden all your life,? the donkey answered. ?Have I ever done anything like this before?? ?No,? Balaam admitted. 31 Then the Lord opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the roadway with a drawn sword in his hand. Balaam bowed his head and fell face down on the ground before him. 32 ?Why did you beat your donkey those three times?? the angel of the Lord demanded. ?Look, I have come to block your way because you are stubbornly resisting me. 33 Three times the donkey saw me and shied away; otherwise, I would certainly have killed you by now and spared the donkey.? 34 Then Balaam confessed to the angel of the Lord, ?I have sinned. I didn't realize you were standing in the road to block my way. I will return home if you are against my going.?