The Interruption That Saw What Balaam Missed

Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam.

Numbers 22:31

Read Numbers 22. Focus on verses 21 through 35. Balaam believes his donkey is the problem. The animal leaves the road, presses against a wall, and finally lies down. Each interruption seems to interfere with an important journey. Balaam responds by beating the donkey. The reader knows something he does not. The angel of the Lord stands in the way with a drawn sword, and the donkey can see him. The animal's unwelcome behavior is preserving the rider's life. Balaam is punishing the very creature that has kept him from danger. When the Lord enables the donkey to speak, it asks about a history Balaam should remember. Has it ordinarily behaved this way? He admits that it has not. Then his eyes are opened, and the angel explains the peril of his course. The scene overturns the reputation of the professional seer. The man sought for his spiritual powers has failed to see what an ordinary working animal sees. His status and anger do not make his interpretation reliable. We need not search for an angel behind every inconvenience. The passage describes an extraordinary intervention in Balaam's story. It can still expose a familiar reaction: we treat an unexpected interruption as defiance before asking whether it contains information we need. A child calls repeatedly while you are trying to finish something and is finally heard saying that water is running onto the floor. A usually dependable coworker stops a routine process because a detail looks wrong. An older relative asks you to slow down because they cannot follow the instructions you are giving. The interruption may arrive awkwardly. The person may lack the language, confidence, or position to explain it as efficiently as you would like. If your first response is to punish the disruption, you may make the useful information harder to reach you. Pause before deciding that your importance makes another person's concern irrelevant. Ask what they are trying to tell you. Where appropriate, check the situation yourself. An apology may be needed if you have already snapped. Balaam's opened eyes reveal that the journey's apparent obstacle was not his greatest danger. Sometimes wisdom begins with recognizing that our first interpretation has made the wrong person a problem. The one interrupting may be seeing something our urgency has kept us from noticing. Put It into Practice Return to one interrupted conversation and ask, “What were you trying to help me notice?” Hear the answer before explaining why you were busy.

Whose attempts to get your attention have you dismissed because they interrupted something important to you?

Lord who opens eyes, slow my anger when someone interrupts. Help me notice a changed pattern and receive information from people with less power or confidence. Make me quick to correct a response that has punished a necessary concern. Amen.