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Numbers 11:17
And Jehovah opened the mouth of the ass (donkey), and she said unto Balaam, “What have I done unto thee, that thou has smitten me these three times?”
God has His ways of getting our attention. It may be through circumstances, peoples comments, illness, the bible, and on. He is always drawing us to Him.
I see God’s connection to us by way of analogy. It’s as if we are connected to Him by a thousand rubber bands. He is ever drawing us to Him. He created everything. All the things that bring us happiness in our day are from Him. Even our ability to enjoy them is His. It could be our preference for foods, music, a walking route, particular people, music, jobs, human discoveries, our health, and so on. Without Him, none of this would be possible. Colossians 1:17 says that “He is before all things and in Him all things hold together.” If He were to release His grip, it all would come apart.
We should be giving thanks for all things. That which He does for us is endless. I heard a dialogue in which a supposed “enlightened” person was looking down on a supposed “closed minded” christian. The “enlightened” person was clinging his superiority of kindness and acceptance. A third person made the point that those virtues were promoted for centuries by christianity. They are prominent in our society because of all the heavy lifting of those of faith who struggled to make our culture what it is. The point was further made that the “enlightened” person was like a squatter who was on ground gained by christianity. I have been pondering this for weeks. This is more good stuff that we need to be thankful for.
Back to analogy of the rubber bands. He draws us by all of these wonderful things. However, He wants to be lord of our lives. Even before we become christians, He is drawing us and seeking to have us follow Him. Whenever we ignore His rules, we break one of the bands. There will be a pin prick of pain in our conscience. However, distraction can eliminate that. The pull of God’s gravity still remains strong. The breaking of one band doesn’t change much. However, when too many are eliminated, their isn’t enough strength to pull us to Him. God keeps pulling, but the band keeps stretching and we stay put.
God can still get our attention. It takes something big like in today’s passage. The donkey spoke. We may get sick or lose a job. Those are the big things. Without the donkey’s intervention, Balaam would be dead. These distracting circumstances are annoying, but they may have saved us or are a warning to us.
Lord, thank You for Your continual drawing us. Help us not to ignore You. Help us to have a sensitive heart that hears and responds to You.