“A DONKEY’S POINT OF VIEW (BALAAM’S STORY)”

(NUMBERS 22:20-34)

    She winced as the staff came down once again on her my back. There was nothing to do but prepare for the next blow. Over and over she braced herself for each new strike.

    “What did I do to anger Master so?”  She asked herself. “There was no where to go so I had to lie down.”

                  *******************************************************

   It had only been this morning that she had been chosen to take Balaam on this most important trip. Moab would be their destination, a place she had heard other donkeys talk about out in the pasture.

    She tried to contain her excitement, her feet shuffling in the dust as the servant adjusted the striped blanket her back. Master was allowing her to take him on his important trip to Moab. She knew it was important because all the donkeys, having come with these many men, were of the best upbringing. Unlike her, they had been trained for carrying royalty and their luggage.

   Long fuzzy ears and a soft black nose centered in a patch of white fur, were some of her best features. Her long eyelashes framed her eyes as if with eyeliner, completing her sweet face. Her plush coat had been made ready for her master to stroke. She was a handsome donkey, indeed.

   Their journey began. Master Balaam, perched on her back, chattered to whom ever he would, the important men riding their donkeys behind us. Master seemed very pleased to be going.

    She, contented because Master was comfortable, stepped gingerly so as to not jar him. Her joy was in pleasing Master.

    Hours passed by, almost boring, until they rounded a crook in the road. There before her stood the most beautiful Man she’d ever seen; His clothes, a bright, shining white; His face gentle, but determined; a sword held in His hand.

    He would not move from before her. She had to move around Him or risk dumping her Master in the dirt. She, protecting her Master from either a collision or a fall, quickly side-stepped into the field that skirted the road.

    Master didn’t seem to realize that she had protected him for he began to strike her with his staff. She veered back onto the road. In wanting to please her Master, she had just missed colliding into the Beautiful Man.

    “Master must have thought that I wanted to stop and eat,” She thought to herself. “I don’t want him to think I’m selfish. I’ll walk even more careful now, and show him I’m taking good care of him.”

    More hours passed by, almost boring, until the road, hedged in by short walls, led them passed beautiful vineyards; vines laden with luscious, purple grapes.

    The Beautiful Man appeared suddenly before them once again. This time there would be no room to get off the road. This time she would need to squeeze between the Beautiful Man and the wall.

    The Master’s foot became wedged between her stomach and the wall.

    Master let out a scream followed by many whacks on her rump with his staff. His words sounded angry and mean. She had hurt her Master, the very thing she had tried to prevent.

    “I have to be much gentler in my gait,” she thought. “I will make this up to him. I should be protecting him and yet I’m hurting him. How could I hurt my Master like that?”

    Once again, hours passed by, almost boring, until the road began to narrow; thick bushes and piles of rock funneled the road into just a few feet wide.

    Again the Beautiful Man appeared before them, only this time He stood in the only place that could be traveled. There was no room for her to veer left or right. She couldn’t go over or under Him.

    “How do I move forward and protect my Master at the same time?” She asked herself. “I have already slowed our pace by stepping into the field. I’ve crushed his foot into a wall. How do I keep him safe now?”

    Then she knew. She would simply lie down. Master would not fall, or get crushed or hurt.

    She stopped, folded her legs under herself, and gently lay on the road, not jarring

Master one bit.

    She winced as the staff came down once again on her back. There was nothing to do but prepare for the next blow. Over and over she braced herself for each new strike.

    “What did I do to anger Master so?” She asked herself. “There was no where to go so I had to lie down.”

    Her thoughts became very loud in her head. And then she heard her voice, like that of a human’s voice. This human voice came from her very own mouth. The God that created her had released her voice so that she could defend herself.

    “What did I do to you that caused you to hit me three times?” She spoke the Master’s language.

   Then he spoke back to her in words she understood.

    “You mocked me; made fun of me; made me look the fool to these important men.” Master Balaam told her. “If I had a sword, I’d kill you right now!”

    “I’ve been your donkey, the one you’ve ridden, ever since you bought me. Have I ever done this before?” She heard her human-voice say. “It’s not the usual thing I do, is it?”

    “No….,” Master said, as if something strange had just happened.

      Master’s eyes then grew round and large, his mouth dropping open, as he focused his attention on what was before them.

     The Beautiful Man loomed before them, the sword in His hand gleaming in the sun light. It was then that she realized Master had not been able to see The Beautiful Man until now. Master rolled off her back onto the dirt, his face to the earth.

    “Why did you hit the donkey three times?” Beautiful Man asked my Master. “I’ve come to stop you because I see you are reckless, over hasty, perverse and contrary. If it weren’t for your donkey, I would have killed you and she would have lived!”

    Master peeked up from the dirt and said, “I’ve sinned. I’ll turn around. I didn’t see you there and didn’t know you were trying to stop me.”

    Glancing over at her…his faithful, kind and merciful little donkey…Master smiled an apology, holding back fearful tears.

    “Go on with these men and do ONLY what I say, just as God told you before,” Beautiful Man said sternly.

    Master Balaam went on to do as God said; to bless Israel and not curse them.

    If not for the little donkey, Balaam would have been slain by the Beautiful Man before he could have completed his assignment. Little donkey saved her Master's life.

    God had opened Balaam's eyes to see how his little donkey had patiently brought him to where God wanted him to be. She had seen what he hadn't, and with loving care and a heart of a servant, she had protected him, even though he hurt her.

    I believe God opened both their eyes to see Jesus the Deliverer; the Beautiful Man.

I also believe that the kind and merciful, the ones with servant hearts, see Jesus first and hear Him loudest...even if they are little donkeys.

Mood:  energetic

S.

Mark 6:1 (NKJ)

Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him.

O.

Jesus had just come from the place 'by the sea' (Mark 5:21) and into His native country.(His Father's Country, His 'Fatherland', The Kingdom of God) . He had come out of the places 'by the sea'; unsettled places, places unstable in nature, a place of chaotic existance, places that hold the turmoil of human life...all traits of 'the sea'. Jesus came into God's country...the spiritual Kingdom of God. Jesus' students/disciples, united with Him 'on the way'. They joined Jesus by uniting with His same walk of life. And in uniting with Him, they became PARALLEL to Him; united with Him as His ATTENDANTS.

PARALLEL=(Webster's American Family Dictionary) Having the same direction in nature, tendency or course; Anything comparable in nature, tendency or course; Identical in essential respects.

ATTEND=(Webster's American Family Dictionary) To take care of; minister to; to serve; guard; listen to; give heed; apply oneself; pay attention to; observe; watch alertly; be present; to wait; to be ready to serve; to follow.

A.

I, as a student of Jesus, am to PARALLEL my life to His while ATTENDING Him on this Earth. I am to come out of the unsettled places, the turmoil of human life, because Jesus didn't walk there...He "WENT OUT FROM THERE"! I am to parallel my walk with Jesus' walk of life. And He walked in His own country while here on the Earth; He walked in THE FATHER'S LAND while still on this Earth!

P.

Father, I desire to walk this Earth as Your Son did, attending YOU and paralleling what Your Son did! Show me that path, Father, that I may always walk in Your ways, with Your desires in my heart!

Mood:  energetic

S.

37 And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James.

40 And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying.

O.

Jesus only allowed these in the room with the sick little girl in order that she would come to life: Peter, James, John, her father and her mother. Why? Because they carried all the traits that are needed to bring life.

Peter='a piece of the Rock'

James=' the supplanter' or 'to exchange one thing for another BY FORCE'

John='Jehovah is a Gracious Giver'

Father='Generator, Originator, Transmitter, Author of a family'

Mother='The Source'

To bring a new life back from death, a piece of the 'Source and Generator of life',THE Rock/God, is needed.

 It has to be taken by force; exchanging the life that Jesus has given us for the death that satan had given us.

God's grace/lovingkindness to save us brings us back to spiritual life.

We go straight to the Source of life; our Father God!

A.

I desire a full spiritual life, full and running over with Holy Spirit's energy. God has given us the Source of this life; Jesus! I claim full spiritual life, the life and living that can only come through Jesus as Lord of Life!

P.

Father, Thank You for bringing the Life we so needed! Thank You for sacrificing Him so that WE could live! You, Father, are the source to all life, physically and spiritually! Help me to live fully in Your gift of life!

Mood:  amorous

S.Mark 4:11,12,34 (AMP) 11. And He said to them, To you has been entrusted the mystery of the kingdom of God [that is, the secret counsels of God which are hidden from the ungodly]; but for those outside [of our circle] everything becomes a parable,12. In order that they may [indeed] look and look but not see and perceive, and may hear and hear but not grasp and comprehend, lest haply they should turn again, and it [their willful rejection of the truth] should be forgiven them.

34. He did not tell them anything without a parable; but privately to His disciples (those who were peculiarly His own) He explained everything [fully].

O.

What Jesus is saying here is that those that believe in Him and have an intimate realtionship with Him will know the hidden things of the Kingdom of God. But the 'strangers' to God's territory are told only comparrisons/illustrations of God's Territory so as to not to truly understand. This is so that when they do turn from sin and back to God, their ignorance of previous sin would not be counted against them. Not knowing what is and isn't sin makes you innocent and ingnorant of that sin. Jesus was acutally protecting the pre-Believer. His compassion shows!

When Jesus is alone with His pupils/disciples, He then 'unties and loosens' the secrets behind His parables. This is why it's so important to have a close relationship...one on One...with Jesus. It's so we can know His secrets! Here is the place that He explains His Word, His reasons, and what is going on in our individual lives.

A.

The closer I get to Jesus, the more time I spend alone with Him in His Word, worshipping Him, and listening to Him in silence, the more of life's secrets He reveals to me; the 'whys' of my personal life. He shows me answers to hard life questions in His Word. He unties the secrets to my personal life and what I have to do to get through hard times. He shows me, through His Word, why certains things have happened in my past...in order to teach me to grow up. He 'loosens' the truth through His Word. He opens my spiritual eyes while we are alone together! And I always come out of the 'secret place' with My Savior with a sense of peace, wisdom and feeling loved! It's the place where my Jesus whispers in my ear what is the Truth to my personal life with Him.

P.

Thank You, Jesus, that You take the time to loosen and untie the secrets of my life. Thank You that You reveal to me that those secrets are in Your Word. Thank You for Your Wisdom and Your Holy Spirit! Stay close to me always! You make my heart sing, Lord!

S.

Mark 3:9, 10  And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship (Comes come the Greek words: to plunge or launder clothing, to wash) should wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him. For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues.

O.

Even Jesus needed a seperate place from the influences of people. He told His disciples to keep one ready for Him, knowing that He would need it. This 'multitude', having many diseases, could inflict those diseases on Jesus, too (being many of the diseases were infectious). Jesus wanted that boat ready in order to seperate Himself from those infections to His body. But in the spirit, this would also be true. Jesus wanted that place of spiritual 'laundering' (small boat) to be ready so as to plunge Himself back into spiritual purity, His personal 'secret place' with God. He knew that God would keep Him cleansed and pure from any spiritual infection, but it had to be always kept ready. Jesus served these 'diseased souls' with a heart that cherished them (Greek: 'healed'=to serve as a menial attendant as if cherishing). He wanted to be among them to cherish them, but He HAD to stay cleansed Himself in order to KEEP doing that!

A.

Wherever I go and whoever I meet, I must always have a prepared place in my heart, let alone a physical 'secret place'. It has to be constantly ready, waiting and prepared, so that I can get there FAST. Here is where I seperate myself from the influences of the world. In this place, I can repent, be cleansed, be spiritually and physcially refreshed, be strengthened and re-assure. In this place I listen to hear God, once again tells me WHO I AM in HIM....created for HIS use, and cleansed!

P.

Oh, Father! I SO thank You for that 'small boat'....because it's YOUR LAP! I thank You that You are always there to take my 'I'm sorrys' and to forgive me, refresh me, and tell You that You will always love me, no matter what! I will always crawl up into Your lap, Father...for that's where I am truly who You made me to be!

ADDED THOUGHT:

Many times I've needed the 'life boat' of God's lap! There is true peace there and I crave that peace in every nook and cranny of my life!

There is much strife going on around me today. Satan tries to come into my thinking and stir up anger, offense and fear. But when I crawl up into my Daddy's lap, He tells me, "I've got it, Nancy! Just LET GO!" The more I let Him have this situation, where strife could reign, the more peace I get. "Why would my Father not use this for His good?" I ask myself. "He would never hurt me. He's in control of all that is good in my life!" The more I let go, the more I can see His plan working. And so, I allow my Father to hold me and take away the things I can not control. And I hear Him say, "TRADE YOU! You give Me this strife-full situation in exchange for My peace!"

WHAT A TRADE!

Mood:  lazy

S.

Mark 2:2, 4 (NKJ) Immediatly many gathered together so there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the Word to them. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.

O.

There was no room around the house that Jesus preached in to bring a paralytic man for Jesus to heal. So the friends of this sick man dug a hole in the roof and lowered down the sick man straight in front of Jesus. The men made a way to Jesus to heal there friend.

A.

The roof of a house represents the brain/thinking of my 'house', our bodies. When there are too many thoughts, too much business in my thinking, than Jesus' thoughts can not get in. I have to clear away the clutter of caotic thinking and make room for Jesus in my thoughts. I have to find a quiet spot. Then Jesus can come in and give me His thoughts and show me the places that He needs to heal in my thinking. He takes the weak spots and makes them strong. I could never find this entrance to His thoughts if I didn't make a way.

P.

Jesus, forgive me for allowing the business of todays life to get in the way of hearing You. Help me find a way, each and every day, to clear away the clutter of my thoughts in order to hear Your thoughts and allow the way for Your healing in my thinking.

Mood:  bright

S.

Acts 28:1, 2 (NKJ) 1 Now when they had escaped, they then found out that the island was called Malta ("affording/furnshing  honey").2 And the natives (Greek: 'foreigners') showed us unusual kindness; for they kindled a fire and made us all welcome, because of the rain that was falling and because of the cold.

O.

The men who were supernaturally rescued by God were now favored by 'foreigners' in their own land.

A.

Because I have been rescued by Jesus and am a free woman, God blesses me with His favor. Freedom just shines out of those who are saved. Many times in my life God's unexplainable favor pours out on me. And it usually comes from those who are attracted to the 'shine of Jesus'. They don't understand this 'shine' on us, but they desire this same freedom. Freedom causes God's favor to pour out from the un-saved on the saved.

P.

Thank You, Lord, for Your shine of salvation! Thank You for Your favor over my life.

Mood:  hungry

S.

Acts 27:34, 38 (NKJ) "Therefore, I urge you to take nourishment, for this is your survival, since not a hair will fall from the head of any of you."...So when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship and threw out (to purge out/test) the wheat  (what is crushed and kneaded) into the sea.

O.

*Because the men on the ship hadn't eaten in 14 days, they were loosing strength, clear thinking and energy.

+If I don't read God's word for awhile, this is exactly what happens in my spirit. My spirit grows weak, confused and sleepy.

*Paul encouraged them to eat.

+Holy Spirit prompts us to read the Bible to feed our spirit.

*When the men on the ship were satisfied, they threw the rest of the food overboard. This made the ship lighter so the ship could stay afloat during the storm.

+When my spirit is full and satisfied from God's Word, I am to 'lighten the load' of knowledge...throw the rest overboard so as not to have the burden of too much un-needed knowledge which causes confusion. I get exactly what I need for THAT storm/trouble.

A.

Jesus knows just what I need and knows the exact time that I need it. He knows which storm/trouble I am in and exactly the thing that will help me. When I read His Word, while being lead by Holy Spirit, my spirit is fed with the exact amount of knowledge and wisdom that is needed for that exact time; that exact storm. When my spirit is satisfied there and I recognize the answer to the 'storm-problem', all other 'wisdom and knowledge' that isn't needed is 'thrown overboard' in order that my spirit won't be overloaded (which could cause confusion...which is NOT of God)  If I need that wisdom and knowledge later, it will be given to me as the answer for a different 'storm-problem'.

It's as if God is saying to me, "Take one step at a time, My child. I will lead you in what you need to know right now, during THIS storm, because I know you.  I will not give you too little or too much but just the right amount for this time in your life".

P.

Father, I know that You know me so well that You know exactly what I need for the exact time I need it. In each 'storm-problem'You lead me to the exact help I need. Help me to always trust You in the amount of wisdom and knowledge that is revealed to me. Help me to not try to grab more than I need, for You know the exact amount. I am SO glad You know everything about me! I trust You, Lord!

Mood:  amorous

S.

Psalm 22:3 (NKJ) But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel.

O.

God is morally sacred, set apart, prepared, dedicated, shows Himself majestic, honored and appointed. He is sitting down, dwelling, inhabiting, settled, and remaining in the true colors and sounds of our praises to Him. We show ourselves, as we praise Him, crystal clear....nothing hidden. We show ourselves as who we really are; mad men/woman and fools, in love with our God. He loves this. Because our actions are louder than words. When we show ourselves as fools, who we really are, He inhibits us.

A.Praising God in front of people can be very hard, especially when we think we are being watched. But what if we ALL acted like the people we truly are inside; foolish for God. We would ALL be God's 'nothings'. The more we praise Him as 'foolish nothings' the more He can come into us and BE HIS-SELF! He can consume us in our praises to Him. And that's EXACTLY where I want Him to be!

P.Father, Help me to show You, in my crystal clear worship and praise to You, that You are EVERYTHING to me!