Numbers 22
Balaam was an interesting character. He was a sorcerer widely known for his effective curses and blessings, and though he was not one of God's chosen people, he was willing to acknowledge that the Lord was a powerful God. As I was reading this I couldn't help but think of how his story exposes that fine line where God examines our hearts and questions or tests our motives. The mixture of obedience and desire to profit is what eventually led to Balaam's death but if we stop and think about it, it does make us reflect on our own masks. At some phase in our journey, God brings to the surface who we are deep down in our hearts and reveals (even if only to ourselves) the mask we put on to cover up. This was a major theme of our women's retreat. We learned at the retreat that our efforts spent on keeping up appearances are better spent learning who we are in Christ and knowing that God is willing and able to accept us, forgive us, and transform us from the inside out. Balaam ended up obeying God and blessed Israel in spite of Balak's bribe but I think a more important take away from this is that God is more interested in our motives. God wants our hearts. Dr. Luke tells us in 12:34 that where our treasure is our heart will be as well. This passage made me stop and reflect on the times I've set out to get something done and God has sent a donkey to stop me from going along my merry way. After reading this I realized that maybe God wanted me to re examine the condition of my heart before I went any further.
Randi
Balaam was an interesting character. He was a sorcerer widely known for his effective curses and blessings, and though he was not one of God's chosen people, he was willing to acknowledge that the Lord was a powerful God. As I was reading this I couldn't help but think of how his story exposes that fine line where God examines our hearts and questions or tests our motives. The mixture of obedience and desire to profit is what eventually led to Balaam's death but if we stop and think about it, it does make us reflect on our own masks. At some phase in our journey, God brings to the surface who we are deep down in our hearts and reveals (even if only to ourselves) the mask we put on to cover up. This was a major theme of our women's retreat. We learned at the retreat that our efforts spent on keeping up appearances are better spent learning who we are in Christ and knowing that God is willing and able to accept us, forgive us, and transform us from the inside out. Balaam ended up obeying God and blessed Israel in spite of Balak's bribe but I think a more important take away from this is that God is more interested in our motives. God wants our hearts. Dr. Luke tells us in 12:34 that where our treasure is our heart will be as well. This passage made me stop and reflect on the times I've set out to get something done and God has sent a donkey to stop me from going along my merry way. After reading this I realized that maybe God wanted me to re examine the condition of my heart before I went any further.
Randi
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