Have you ever been frustrated because something simply wouldn’t go the way you wanted?
You prayed about it.
You planned for it.
You were ready to move forward.
And then suddenly…
Something got in the way.
A door closed.
A plan fell apart.
An opportunity disappeared.
A relationship changed.
A delay came at the worst possible time.
And your first thought was probably something like:
“Lord, why are You blocking me?”
But what if the thing blocking your way isn’t there to keep you from something good?
What if God put it there to protect you from something you can’t see?
That’s exactly what happened to Balaam in Numbers 22.
And there’s a lesson here that may make us laugh at first, but if we’re honest, it may also make us squirm a little.
Because sometimes…
we’re more stubborn than a mule.
The story of Balaam and his donkey is one of those Bible accounts that captures our attention immediately.
A man named Balaam is traveling down the road.
His donkey suddenly stops.
Balaam gets angry.
The donkey tries to avoid something in the road.
Balaam gets even angrier.
Then, remarkably, the donkey speaks.
But the talking donkey isn’t actually the most important part of the story.
The real lesson is what the donkey could see that Balaam couldn’t.
“And the angel of the LORD stood in the way for an adversary against him.” Numbers 22:22
Balaam didn’t see the angel.
His donkey did.
God was trying to stop Balaam from moving forward into danger, but Balaam couldn’t understand why his path kept being interrupted.
From Balaam’s perspective, the donkey was the obstacle.
From God’s perspective, the donkey was the protection.
And isn’t that sometimes how we see our own lives?
We see the closed door. God sees what’s on the other side of it.
We see the delay. God sees what we’re not ready for.
We see the disappointment. God sees the protection.
We see an interruption. God sees an opportunity to redirect us.
We don’t always recognize God’s protection because it doesn’t always feel good.
Sometimes God’s protection looks like disappointment.
Sometimes it looks like waiting.
Sometimes it looks like a firm no when we desperately wanted a yes.
And sometimes it looks like something standing directly in our way.
We may pray:
“God, please move this obstacle.”
But perhaps God is saying:
“I’m not moving it because I put it there.”
That’s a difficult thought.
We naturally assume that if something is making our lives harder, it must be something God wants removed.
But that’s not always true.
There are times when God allows something to stop us because He sees what we cannot.
Balaam couldn’t see the danger ahead.
But God could.
The donkey became an instrument of protection.
Think about that the next time something doesn’t go according to plan.
Before asking God to remove the obstacle, perhaps we should ask:
“Lord, what are You trying to show me?”
There’s nothing wrong with being determined.
Determination can help us persevere when things are difficult.
But there is a dangerous line between perseverance and stubbornness.
Perseverance says:
“God told me to keep going, so I won’t quit.”
Stubbornness says:
“I want to keep going, so I’m going to keep going.”
Those two things can look remarkably similar from the outside.
But one is obedience. The other is self-will.
Balaam had already received direction from God. Yet he continued down the road.
The problem wasn’t that Balaam had no information.
He had already been warned.
Sometimes we don’t need another answer from God. We need to obey the answer He’s already given.
That can be difficult when His answer doesn’t match what we want.
Have you ever prayed about something while secretly hoping God would change His mind?
Have you ever continued pursuing something because you had already decided it was what you wanted?
Have you ever called something “faith” when, deep down, it was simply your determination to have your way?
Those are uncomfortable questions.
But they’re good questions.
Because sometimes the most spiritual thing we can do isn’t keep going.
Sometimes it’s stop.
Anger Can Make Us Unreasonable
Balaam didn’t respond to the interruption with prayer.
He responded with anger.
“And Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff.” Numbers 22:27
His frustration kept him from seeing what was actually happening. And anger can do the same thing to us.
When we’re angry, our vision becomes narrow.
We stop listening.
We stop asking questions.
We stop considering another perspective.
We simply want the thing frustrating us to go away.
Think about how easy it is to react when our plans are interrupted.
We can become impatient.
We can become defensive.
We can blame others.
We can assume the worst.
And sometimes, in our frustration, we can even fight against the very thing God is using to protect us.
Balaam thought his donkey was being difficult.
He didn’t realize his donkey was trying to save his life.
What if we could learn to pause before reacting?
What if our first response to an unexpected interruption was:
“Lord, help me see this from Your perspective.”
That one prayer could change the way we handle many of life’s frustrations.
Before You Think of Someone Else…
Here’s where this lesson gets especially personal.
When we read about Balaam’s stubbornness, it’s easy to think of someone else.
“She needs to hear this.”
“My husband needs this lesson.”
“I know exactly who this reminds me of.”
We’ve all done it.
But Scripture isn’t only a window through which we look at other people.
It’s also a mirror through which God allows us to examine ourselves.
So before you give this lesson away…
Keep it.
Before you think about who needs to hear it…Ask who God wants you to hear it for.
Before you correct someone else’s stubbornness…Ask God to reveal yours.
Before you wonder why someone else won’t listen…Ask whether you’ve been listening.
Before you point out someone else’s self-will…Ask where you have insisted on your own way.
One of the easiest ways to avoid conviction is to turn it into somebody else’s lesson.
We become spiritual mail carriers, always delivering God’s Word to someone else.
But God wants His Word to transform us.
So when someone comes to mind while you’re reading this, don’t necessarily go tell them about Balaam and the donkey.
Pray for them.
Then ask:
“Lord, why did You bring this person to my mind?”
Maybe God wants you to pray.
Maybe He wants you to forgive.
Maybe He wants you to examine something in your own heart.
Maybe He simply wants you to leave that person in His hands.
We don’t always need to do something with the person who comes to mind.
Sometimes we need to do something with what God revealed about ourselves.
The Donkey Saw What the Prophet Couldn’t See
Perhaps the most humbling part of the story is found in Numbers 22:31:
“Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way…”
God opened Balaam’s eyes.
Suddenly, Balaam could see what had been there all along.
The obstacle wasn’t the problem.
His inability to see was the problem.
That makes me wonder:
What might God be trying to show me that I don’t yet see?
What if the closed door is protection?
What if the delay is preparation?
What if the interruption is redirection?
What if the frustration is an invitation to trust?
What if the thing I keep trying to push through is something God is asking me to surrender?
And perhaps the most important question:
What if I’m the one who needs my eyes opened?
There’s a humorous irony in this story.
The donkey was willing to stop. Balaam wasn’t.
The donkey recognized the danger. Balaam didn’t.
The donkey responded to what God was showing it. Balaam responded to what he wanted.
Sometimes we can be exactly the same way.
We push when God says stop.
We rush when God says wait.
We insist when God says surrender.
We become frustrated when God interrupts our plans.
And we wonder why God isn’t making the road easier.
Maybe He’s not trying to make the road easier.
Maybe He’s trying to change our direction.
That’s when we have to ask ourselves:
Am I more stubborn than a mule?
Not:
“Who do I know who is stubborn?”
But:
“Where am I being stubborn?”
What Is God Trying to Show You?
The next time something unexpected gets in your way, don’t automatically fight it.
Pause.
Pray.
Listen.
Ask:
“Lord, what are You trying to show me?”
You may discover that the obstacle isn’t blocking God’s plan. It may be protecting you from the wrong one.
You may discover that the delay isn’t punishment. It may be preparation.
You may discover that the closed door isn’t rejection. It may be redirection.
And you may discover that what needs to change isn’t the obstacle in front of you. It’s the stubbornness inside of you.
Take some quiet time with these questions before moving on to someone else’s name or situation.
This week, whenever something doesn’t go according to your plans, resist the urge to immediately become frustrated.
Instead, stop and pray:
“Lord, what are You trying to show me?”
You may not receive an immediate answer.
You may not understand the interruption.
You may not see the purpose.
But you can trust the One who does.
Because God sees the road ahead.
He sees what you cannot see.
And sometimes, in His great love for us, He puts something in our path, not to keep us from His plan…
but to keep us from the wrong one.
God sometimes uses unexpected means to stop us, redirect us, and open our eyes to what we could not see for ourselves.
When God puts an unexpected obstacle in my path, I will pause before I push through it and ask, “Lord, what are You trying to show me?”
The obstacle may not be blocking God’s plan; it may be protecting me from the wrong one.
Father, thank You for loving us enough to interrupt us when we are heading in the wrong direction. Forgive us for the times we have been more stubborn than the mule, pushing forward when You were asking us to stop.
Help us recognize Your protection even when it doesn’t look like what we expected. Give us wisdom to distinguish between perseverance and stubbornness, and patience to pause before reacting when our plans are interrupted.
Open our eyes, Lord, to see what You want us to see. Search our hearts before we concern ourselves with someone else’s heart. Help us surrender our way for Yours and trust that You see what we cannot.
When You say stop, help us stop. When You say wait, help us wait. When You say go, give us the courage to go.
And when something stands in our way, help us remember that the obstacle may not be blocking Your plan—it may be protecting us from the wrong one.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Until next time, stay…
Anchored in Him. Shining His Light.
– Thee Anchor & Light
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