"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need." Matthew 6:33 (NLT)

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Numbers 22 - Out of Character/Trust

I really like this chapter because it reminds me that sometimes we have to place trust in what we know about a person, not what they are doing at that moment.

Baalam is traveling with his donkey and his donkey starts acting very strangely and is avoiding parts of the path which is resulting in some injury to Baalam. Balaam starts to mistreat the donkey and the donkey speaks this to him:

30 “But I am the same donkey you have ridden all your life,” the donkey answered. “Have I ever done anything like this before?”

Have you ever been in a situation where someone you have known has suddenly acted out of character? How have you reacted?

It is interesting how we develop trust with one another. Some give it freely, others require that people earn it. Sometimes that trust is strong and covers moments like this and sometimes it is weak and their change in behavior breaks that bond. But what about when we consider our trust of God?

For me, there are many times where i don't understand what God is doing. I know God's character but in my limited ability to understand God, i can't always see how it all meshes together with what i am experiencing. So i have two choices...trust or lack of trust.

I think many people find it hard to choose trust and since they don't understand God and can't see the consistency of character, they walk away from God or set God aside. Don't we sometimes do that with people too? Especially if they start acting very differently. We don't know what to do, so we push them to the side.

But this story reminds us that we need to trust and understand that sometimes there are things we don't see and understand. Sometimes, the "out of character" behavior is for our protection. I am not saying people won't hurt or disappoint you, because they will, but I am saying that you should choose trust and take the time to try and understand what is going on.

P.S. I apologize for the inconsistency this week. I am in the middle of a move and my new apartment doesn't have Internet yet and my schedule is a little crazy.

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