Balaam's Donkey

-

Numbers22:10-34 

Stories of God's unfailing love never fail to warm my heart. So it was quite a treat to read about Balaam. Read on the link above for the Bible version. Here's my take on it.

Baalam was some guy that some king assigned to put a curse on a people that have just come out of Egypt. Knowing that it was a command from a king, he'd probably get a lot of moolah for simply doing it. In the first place it was a no-brainer assignment, he didn't have to move much muscles in accomplishing the task. 
But the Lord was not happy about it. He instructed Balaam to not do it. However, due to this ordinary guy's strong headed nature, he went on with the cursing task on a donkey. The Lord was not happy about what he did. So, he sent an angel to stop them.  
When the donkey saw the angel for the first time, he went back and turned into a field. This earned him some serious beating from Balaam, until he returned to the road. The donkey saw the angel of the Lord several times and he did try to stop and not continue the journey. But every time the poor donkey did it, he ended up getting beaten by Balaam. 
Then finally, when God opened Balaam's eyes, he understood why his poor Donkey was going berserk in their journey. He became ashamed and asked forgiveness from the Lord. God said that if Balaam continued on the journey he would've gotten himself killed and the donkey spared.

I could GREATLY relate to Balaam, based on personal experiences. Hahahaha. There are definitely obstacles that I could encounter in achieving my goals and plans. But, these obstacles are not necessarily all from the bad guy. Some of them are purposely and lovingly placed by God to protect me and to keep me from doing something foolish. So it takes a lot of courage and discernment to know if these things are from God or the bad guy.

I find it sweet that my Lord cares for me, and loves me with a love like this. Albeit being stubborn most of the time, He never gets tired of making sure that I am in the right track, never fails to make sure that my foolish self does not do anymore foolishness. Knowing this is a comfort that the Lord guides and protects. 

And that is more than enough reason to make me smile. :) 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Crazy Cambodia Day1

-
Image
I have been meticulously planning/ dreaming for this trip for the last 3-6 months and it is fantastic to finally be here and be outside of the Philippines. We booked an evening flight from Manila to Siem Reap, got out of our work modes (me having the easier part in getting out of work while tiah having a harder time to do so), went to the airport and boarded our flight. The flight to siem reap was tiring and we had a bit of a scare when we arrived because it felt like Siem Reap was a ghost town. But the Lord was gracious. He gave us a very good tuk-tuk driver and, a very good and cheap hostel accommodation. We woke up to a different country the next morning and this is our first  first impression of Siem Reap:
Read more

Siem Reap to Bangkok by Bus and by Train Day 3

-
We wanted to take our adventure to a higher level so we opted to go with the road less traveled. Booked a bus ticket to Poipet, crossed the border, rode a tuktuk to the train station at Aryanapathet and rode the third class train to Hua Lamphong station. Do not ride tuktuks in Thailand, most of them are scams so it is better to ride a metered taxi instead because they are generally better and more legit. Bus to Poipet (Cambodia side Cambo-Thai border) = 5 USD Tuktuk from Border to Aranyapathet station = 80 THB Do not ride tuktuks near the border, they usually charge you with a higher price. We rode the tuktuk near the 7-11 shop which is in front of the bank Train from Aranyapathet station to Hua Lamphong station = 48 THB Ride a metered taxi to your hotel. Make sure that the driver turns on the meter... This is our video log for day3 and how the third class train from Aranyaphathet border to Hua Lamphong looks like: We were DEAD tired after this trip... but we wil
Read more

Busy Bangkok Day 4

-
Image
A dishonest tuk-tuk driver, a busy street just like manila, and two confused disoriented Indays started the Thailand part of our misadventure. We were apprehensive with Bangkok... But it was fun anyway. :)  We visited the grand palace (had some ultimate photo bum photos with Korean tourists- see photo above),  the reclining Budha (silly photos with funny looking statues) and Khao San road (below). I was mesmerized by the grandeur of Thailand's old religious architecture and I was enticed by Khao San's vibrant night life and energy! Haha! :) Saya!
Read more