The Civil War and Decisions.

In the great War of Northern Aggression (the Civil War for those above the Mason-Dixon line), people spent much of their lives trying to survive the tragedy and heartbreak of wartime existence. There was the constant fear of your wife\husband\child\parent dying from some disease or malnutrition, the daily routine of finding enough food to supply your family something to cure the hunger pains, and the overall lack of human kindness. This country was a third world country surviving on sheer belief that God would prevail.

You might ask yourself, "What does this have to do with a good old naked walk with Christ?" and you would be hard pressed to find an answer.

Simply, there are struggles we survive that tell us we are in God's path. We come through the other side and see the fruits of our labor. We hear the calling of our Lord and have traversed the terrain to find His special love waiting on the other side.

In Job, we read about such a struggle and find that Job finally lived in the luxury God can provide for those who persevere.

But often, we find we are heading in the wrong direction and we need to stop and take stock of what we are doing. Balaam and his donkey are prime examples of how God works to stop us from hurting ourselves and realize we are not persevering in God's path, but are heading directly in the path of death.

For those not familiar with Balaam, he was a prophet of God, but not of Israel. He was sent to curse the Israelites and to stop them from continuing their taking of the promise land.

His donkey stopped before and refused to move forward. Balaam tried to force his way forward, but an Angel, unseen by Balaam, kept the donkey from moving forward. When the angel was revealed to Balaam, he learned just how close he had come to death. (The account of Balaam is told mostly in Numbers. It's a good read.)

All of us have a donkey that keeps us from trouble from time to time. God places people of objects in our path to help us stop and look at the situation. Learning to see these signs is important. Balaam was slow to see it. He almost died.

Today, just like with the Civil War, God places these objects, sometimes a person, others a series of events, to keep us from harming ourselves or others. Our lives are influenced often by what we consider coincidences and happenstances, but are no less than the hand of God protecting us. Whether it be an angel protecting others at a cost of our life, such as with Balaam, or a small child who begs us to stay home and play a game with him, there might be a reason for this behavior.


One thing for us to watch is how these events occur. I am sure there are donkeys who refuse to go further, but with Balaam, he had been riding this donkey for some distance and the donkey stopping was something strange and out of character. When we encounter something out of the ordinary in our path, it is an indication we need to stop and look at what is ahead. Is it of God, or are we being warned away from harm?

Secondly, we need to see where the smart people are heading. If you are on a ship and everyone suddenly jumps overboard, you might want to follow and ask why later. The crowd probably has a better understanding of the situation and is acting upon what they know. With Balaam, the countries around him had already abandoned their towns once the Israelites began destroying everyone who remained behind.

Third, a good solid prayer in the heat of the moment is not a bad idea. Some people call the flare-prayers, flares sent to God to ask for directions. He is faithful to guide us. If He has sent an angel to stop your progress and you stop before the angel cuts your head off, certainly God will help you wander your way back to His will.

A little common sense goes a long way with this type of work. If it looks like a Devil trap, it just might be. If God seems to be holding you back, He just might be. If you have to manipulate a situation to make it work, perhaps you are manipulating God out of your plan. Think before your beat your donkey into submission. Balaam almost lost his head over that silly little animal.

Until the next stroke of... well, common sense hits...

Allen