Missing something Major
“I’m pretty sure we’re going to die”. I flipped through the book, searching for a code or a clue or anything to Help us out. The timer was down to just thirty seven minutes remaining and the thing was, we hadnt gotten anywhere! We hadnt gotten any where at all. Titus and I, along with a few friends were aboard the USS Lexington in the Corpus Christy bay; trapped in an excape room in a long unused part of the ship. The thankfully fictional situation was, that we had less than an hour to find and disable a nuclear bomb. Finally we had a clue. We knew exactly where to look, we knew what we were looking for….
We tried looking up close, we tried backing away. but we just couldnt see it. We wasted ten more precious minutes trying to see what we could not seem to make out. Finally, we had the code! Its a good thing that was a fictional nuclear bomb, because otherwise we would have been toast. Us and everyone else in Corpus Christy. When the gamemaster came in I asked “we missed something pretty major didnt we?” He chuckled “yea…”
Have you ever felt like you were missing something pretty major? Thats how I felt in the excape room that day. Looking high and low, yet not being able to find our way out. Having no clue what went where or what was even important! Im glad I had the comfort of knowing that no one would actually get hurt, and we would finish our tour safe and sound. Yet sometimes we find ourselves in situations which are very real. And we still feel like “what am I missing? What is it that I’m failing to see?”
Balaam ran into some trouble like that one day. He was on his way to go curse the people of God (which he probably already knew was a bad idea), and he had missed something pretty major.
Numbers 22:21-31
“And God’s anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him. And the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way. But the angel of the Lord stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side. And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall: and he smote her again. And the angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff. And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times? And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee. And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? and he said, Nay. Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.”
Its pretty obvious to everyone reading the story, that Balam was pretty distracted while driving his donkey! His donkey talks to him and he Just talked back to it like that was totally normal! Can you imagine? He was clearly blind and way to preoccupied to notice that donkeys don’t normally talk! If I had been balaam and the donkey started talking to me, I think I would have launched myself over the wall, and hightailed it out of that vineyard as fast as I could. That type of tactic would probably scare some sense into me. But it wasnt me. It was balaam. And he talked right back to that donkey like it was no big deal.
I imagine His level of distraction and determination were at fever pitch. One important factor that isn’t in the passage that we read, is that God had spoken to him the night before and told him to go and speak only the words that God gave him. But God wasn’t the only one that had been talking. King balack had also made it clear that he could make balaam a very wealthy and powerful man if he would curse the people of God. For whom then was balaam aiming to please in his journey toward the Isrealite camp? God, or king Balak? God knows our hearts and isn’t fooled when we say something we dont really mean. It was Gods purpose to make sure that balaam only said what God wanted him to say. But Balam missed what was right in front of him. He tried to force his way forward, when the angel of the Lord was standing in the way.
How many times do we talk back to donkeys in our own lives? Missing what God is trying to tell us because we’re too busy going our own way. Determined to follow our plans, and get what we want. Balaam was going determined to get what balaam wanted. And God thwarted him to let him know that he couldnt go anywhere unless God was on His side. It is Gods world that balaam was passing through and not the other way around.
Do you feel like you’ve been banging your head against a wall? Have you been trying to force your way forward without success? Maybe there is a reason. Maybe God is trying to tell you to go His way and not your own. But first you need to have your eyes opened.
There is a story of another man who needed to have his eyes opened. Imagine waking up one morning, going out to do the chores and finding yourself surrounded by the army of the enemy.
The king of syria was sure that he had a spy on his hands. Every time he made a move, the king of Isreal was one step ahead. He could plan as meticulously and as secretly as possible, but no matter what, the king of Isreal always had an advantage. The prophet Elisha, he would soon find out, was the reason behind all of his misfortunes. God would speak to this prophet from Dothan and he would tell the king of isreal every detail of his enemy’s plan. Well that was enough. Elisha couldnt pass on any information if he was in the king of syrias custody. So, one terrible morning Elishas servant stepped out to do the morning chores, and found himself surrounded by the Syrian army.
He quickly ran for his master and asked the question that we often ask in crisis “alas master! How shall we do?”
What are we going to do now!?
2 kings 6:15-20
And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the Lord, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria.And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.
Here was another man who needed to have his eyes opened. The prophet Elisha had long been a man that was careful to follow Gods directions. Because of this, instead of having the angel of the Lord against Him, he had a whole army of angels on His side.
5 steps to getting your eyes opened
Right motivation. Part of the reason balaam could not see and elisha could, was because of the men that they each were. Elisha was interested in working for God, in glorifying God, and balaam was blinded by worldly ambition. Selfish motivation and ungody desire will blind us quicker than about anything. Just think of all of the marriages destroyed by selfishness, and the lives that have been ruined by addiction. Blinded. Unable to see what is important, because desire is in the wrong place. But a desire for God and the things of God, a desire to be what God called you to be, is something that will open your eyes, both to the needs around you, and the blessings that you already have.
Humility and surrender. Going back to balaam for a moment, there is something crucial that we have to think about as we try to follow what God wants us to do. We must be humble and surrendered; acknowledging the place that God holds as Lord of our lives. It was balaams pride that led him to think he could use this trip for his own purposes. And it is often our pride that blinds us to what God wants us to do. In our pride we think we know better than God. We think we can live our lives the way we want. But, We must find ourselves in a place where we are willing to do whatever God wants us to do. Regardless
faith. “There are more that be with us than they that be with them” Elisha said. Through eyes of faith he could see what his young servant could not. He could see an army of angels all around them. Ready and waiting for orders. His Faith in God quickly allowed him to see an answer most people would have thought was crazy. Thats what faith does. It allows us to look past the worry that clouds our view, to the possibility that is beyond.
Prayer. Elisha asked God to show his young protege what he could see. To open up his eyes and show him the thing that to Elisha was obvious, and a huge comfort. He asked God to smite the army with blindness. He could see from the angelic host that the syrian army was at his mercy. So he simply asked God to close their eyes.
Finally, he acted.
He acted on what he was having faith in God to do. And he led the whole army down to the king of Isreal.
The ability to close and open eyes is completely within the power of God. when we find ourselves lost or in a crisis, we can ask God to show us what it is that we need to see. We can have faith that He has the answer. We can act on what it is that God shows us. And we can trust that he will lead us through.