Sometimes spiritual people say things that don’t make sense, or where the words don’t flow or it’s not the usual way of saying that phrase. That’s a great time to be curious and wonder if the Holy Spirit is speaking. I’ll give you a few examples.

I was praying with a group of people last week, and someone got the word that we shouldn’t build altars to religion or money, or whatever. People started praying against those idols. But the word was altars. Then one person started praying against the altars but couldn’t pronounce the word “altars”, over and over.

This week I was praying with another group and the word was “where is God’s strength?” I started asking God to show us where he was moving, where he was at work. But I was aware the word was strength. A little later as we were listening to each other’s stories we heard some say they were always looking for people’s strengths. Ahh, God wants us to see his strength in people.

Sometimes it’s less pleasant. I’ll be working away on something I think is important, and my wife will say “are you still working on that?” Or I’ll be on my way out to meet someone and she’ll say “why are you meeting with them again?” When someone says something you’re not expecting, it’s good to pay attention. Is there some truth in it? Something from God? (In the case of my wife, there almost always is.)

When things are not making sense in the natural realm, it’s an invitation to be curious in the Spirit. This is what Balaam failed to grasp. Here’s the end of the story from Numbers 22:21-35. Notice the verse in bold.

When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat it with his staff. Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?”

Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.”

The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?”

“No,” he said.

Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown.