Dear church,

The way of Jesus Christ always requires sacrifice from the people who follow Him, and one of the more obvious sacrifices we are called to make is the sacrifice of our wills. To follow Jesus means to do his will and not ours – or the will of other people. 

The center of this episode in the life of Balaam was the way in which he became firmly lodged between the will of King Balak and the will of God. Just as the donkey could go no farther and collapsed to the ground, hemmed in by uncomfortable and divine circumstances, so Balaam found himself.

We sometimes make God’s will into some mysterious thing, but it most often is in black and white in the pages of our bibles, should we take the time to read them. And when we come face to face with the will of Jesus Christ, we have no place else to turn. If he is my Savior and Lord – if I believe he has died on the cross for my sins and bears the promise of eternal life for me – then I must obey.  

“If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” (1 John 1:6). 

Balaam’s problem was in his desire for worldly gain (2 Peter 2:15-16). In his heart and despite his stated intention, he was willing to curse Israel (Deuteronomy 23:4-5).

The lure to do our own will or the will of the world always will be present. We will not be able to escape it in this life – not until Jesus returns to set all things right. Until then, we must remain steadfast in our faith and certain in our obedience to Christ.

We do sometimes have difficult decisions in our walk with Christ (Matthew 10:34-39). But obedience is worth it.

Chris