HE USES ANYTHING (1)

THE ISRAELITES journeyed and encamped in the plains of Moab, on the east side of the Jordan [River] at Jericho.

2And Balak [the king of Moab] son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.

3And Moab was terrified at the people and full of dread, because they were many. Moab was distressed and overcome with fear because of the Israelites.

4And Moab said to the elders of Midian, Now will this multitude lick up all that is round about us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field. So Balak son of Zippor, the king of the Moabites at that time,

5Sent messengers to Balaam [a foreteller of events] son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the [Euphrates] River, even to the land of the children of his people, to say to him, There is a people come out from Egypt; behold, they cover the face of the earth and they have settled down and dwell opposite me.

6Now come, I beg of you, curse this people for me, for they are too powerful for me. Perhaps I may be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.

7And the elders of Moab and of Midian departed with the rewards of foretelling in their hands; and they came to Balaam and told him the words of Balak.

8And he said to them, Lodge here tonight and I will bring you word as the Lord may speak to me. And the princes of Moab abode with Balaam [that night].

9And God came to Balaam, and said, What men are these with you?

10And Balaam said to God, Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying,

11Behold, the people who came out of Egypt cover the face of the earth; come now, curse them for me. Perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out.

12And God said to Balaam, You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.

13And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said to the princes of Balak, Go back to your own land, for the Lord refuses to permit me to go with you.

14So the princes of Moab rose up and went to Balak, and said, Balaam refuses to come with us.

15Then Balak again sent princes, more of them and more honorable than the first ones.

16And they came to Balaam, and said to him, Thus says Balak son of Zippor, I beg of you, let nothing hinder you from coming to me.

17For I will promote you to very great honor and I will do whatever you tell me; so come, I beg of you, curse this people for me.

18And Balaam answered the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more.

19Now therefore, I pray you, tarry here again tonight that I may know what more the Lord will say to me.

20And God came to Balaam at night, and said to him, If the men come to call you, rise up and go with them, but still only what I tell you may you do.

21And Balaam rose up in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab.

22And God's anger was kindled because he went, and the ^[a]Angel of the Lord stood in the way as an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his donkey, and his two servants were with him.

23And the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way and His sword drawn in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. And Balaam struck the donkey to turn her into the way.

24But the Angel of the Lord stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall on this side and a wall on that side.

25And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she thrust herself against the wall and crushed Balaam's foot against it, and he struck her again.

26And the Angel of the Lord went further and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right hand or to the left.

27And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she fell down under Balaam, and Balaam's anger was kindled and he struck the donkey with his staff.

28And the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, What have I done to you that you should strike me these three times?

29And Balaam said to the donkey, Because you have ridiculed and provoked me! I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!

30And the donkey said to Balaam, Am not I your donkey, upon which you have ridden all your life long until this day? Was I ever accustomed to do so to you? And he said, No.

31Then the Lord opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His sword drawn in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell on his face.

32And the Angel of the Lord said to him, Why have you struck your donkey these three times? See, I came out to stand against and resist you, for your behavior is willfully obstinate and contrary before Me.

33And the ass saw Me and turned from Me these three times. If she had not turned from Me, surely I would have slain you and saved her alive.

34Balaam said to the Angel of the Lord, I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the way against me. But now, if my going displeases You, I will return.

35The Angel of the Lord said to Balaam, Go with the men, but you shall speak only what I tell you. So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

36When Balak heard that Balaam had come, he went out to meet him at the city of Moab on the border formed by the Arnon [River], at the farthest end of the boundary.

37Balak said to Balaam, Did I not [earnestly] send to you to ask you [to come] to me? Why did you not come? Am not I able to promote you to honor?

38And Balaam said to Balak, Indeed I have come to you, but do I now have any power at all to say anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that shall I speak.

39And Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth.

40And Balak offered oxen and sheep, and sent [portions] to Balaam and to the princes who were with him.

41And on the following day Balak took Balaam and brought him up into the high places of Bamoth-baal; from there he saw the nearest of the Israelites. ( Num 22:1-41 )
    Good morning dearly beloved, hope you had a marvellous night rest and an interesting weekend.
       I read a story once of a woman who had a child  who was seriously sick and needed urgent medical attention. She tried getting her neighbours who had cars to convey the child to the hospital but to no avail. As God would have it, it was raining and she was finding it difficult getting her child to the hospital. I bet that a lot of Christians with vehicles passed that lady on the way maybe even bishops, general overseers, prophets, apostles without any single one helping. I tried imagining the agony that mother would have been going through at that point. The fear that her child may even die on her back before getting to the hospital. As the story goes, a mad man noticed her, went to her, took the baby from her and got to the hospital way earlier than she did. When the doctor saw her, he told her that if the child had been brought 10 mins later than when he arrived, the child would have died. Imagine the hot tears that came to her eyes for the extraordinary miracle in a most unusual way that God had done for her.

    This morning am led to write a message of hope. You see, we all as humans go through alot, we have challenges, problems, issues that are unique to ourselves. Sometimes we begin to feel that we are the only ones going through issues. We think that we are the only one facing this kind of issue. We forget that scripture says that there is nothing new under the sun. Yes, you may not have money to do certain things. Yes, your marriage may be in shambles. Yes, your G.P may not be hopeful. Yes, you may have been looking for a job for 2,5 or even 10 years. Yes, you may have been looking for a life partner or even the fruit of the womb. But let me tell you that God is on your case to put a smile on your face. Can you hold on a little and let God finish the miracle in your life  that he has started.

     Jer 29:11, we claim this scripture, believe it but we forget the circumstances in which God gave this message. The Israelites were already captives, scattered across the face of the earth. From man's point of view, it looked like they were going to be slaves forever. That the hardship and suffering they were going through will last forever, no going back to their land. Then that message of hope came, impossible to believe and I think some people even thought prophet Jeremiah to be crazy and insane. The same way this message of hope is coming to you now, it may seem too illogical to believe that there is light at the end of the tunnel. I want you to believe in God who never fails nor disappoints nor is ever late nor ever sleeps nor slumbers. The psalmist says since I was born and now am getting I have never seen the righteous nor his seed beg bread. Trust in Him.

    Scriptures says in Ps 30:5 that weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning. Anything that has a beginning surely has an end. Let me tell you something, God will never make you face issues beyond your stamina. Scriptures says he makes an escape out of our temptations. Keep your face, faith and hope fixed on Jesus because he will never disappoint. It may tarry but it surely come.

   Do have a beautiful and blessed-filled day, God loves you.

Prayer point 

 (1) Grace not to backslide 

(2) Grace to survive these trying times