Balaam was riding his donkey to Moab, and two of his servants were with him. But God was angry that Balaam had gone, so one of the LORD’s angels stood in the road to stop him. When Balaam’s donkey saw the angel standing there with a sword, it walked off the road and into an open field. Balaam had to beat the donkey to get it back on the road.
(Numbers 22:22-23 CEV)
When Balaam failed to see the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in hand to oppose him, the donkey saw him and turned off the road in obedience. In his anger and frustration, however, Balaam beat the donkey to try to get it on the road again. It wasn’t until later that Balaam’s donkey spoke up and Balaam finally saw the angel of the Lord and obeyed. At times, we can all be like Balaam. We can find ourselves in a situation where we can’t see where we’re headed until someone – who can clearly see the situation – points it out to us. And if we listen to them, their advice can actually help us to get back on the right track.
From time to time, we could all use another pair of eyes.
Rising with the Son 