Life’s lemons

Kaylene Vieselmeyer
Columnist
April 8, 2004, Page 4

Some amazing things come from laughter.
It seems as though God Himself even has a touch of humor.
One story that reminds me of this humor is the story about a man named Balaam. Balaam was instructed by God to do what he was told. Balaam decided that he would rather do what he wanted and go where God had not commanded him.
God sent an angel to stand in the road on which Balaam was traveling (Numbers 22).
The irony of this story is the fact that this angel could only be seen by the donkey. Balaam was riding on the donkey. Because the donkey could see this angel it decided to stop. Balaam became frustrated with the donkey and beat it each time the donkey would not move.
This happened three times before the Lord finally opened the donkey’s mouth, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?”
“Balaam answered the donkey, ‘You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.’”
“The donkey said to Balaam, ‘Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you’?”
“No,” he said.
“Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell face down. The angel of the Lord asked him, ‘Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me,’” (Numbers 22: 28-32).
Isn’t it amazing the techniques and circumstances that God uses to help keep us on the right path? Although this story of a talking donkey is quite comical, it shows us much truth.
There are many things out there that God will continue to use to keep us going on the right path.
I’m not sure if He would make our car talk to keep us on the right path, but, hey, who knows! The path that the angel was describing wasn’t exactly a path of dirt or concrete, but a path which can detour us from God.
Many times it’s true we set out on our own thinking that we are going in the right direction, but then it turns into a ‘reckless one.’ We feel as though we can do it all alone, but God always has a way of bringing us back—even if it turns out to be a talking donkey!