Christians can sometimes be a bit too concerned about asking God for direction over every detail of our lives. Don’t get me wrong, I believe that God cares about every detail of our lives and that we should make all of our little decisions in accordance with his will. However, there are two different ways in which we sometimes over ask for direction.

One of those is asking God to clearly show us what to do in every small decision. God actually isn’t interested in robots who just follow his programming at all times. If he were, he would never have made us. However, I’m going to save this concept for another week. There is also a danger in ask for God’s direction when we already know the answer, but we just don’t like it. This is dangerous because God will eventually let us have our way.

Don’t believe me? Let me tell you a story about a prophet. I’m going to call him Joe, because I want you to think about the story without jumping to the end. So Joe is a prophet of God, but not an Israelite. A king who is concerned about the Israelites sends people to Joe and asks him to come curse the Israelites. Then God come to Joe and asks what’s going on. Joe explains. God very clearly says “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed” Numbers 22:12 (ESV). So Joe tells his visitors that he can’t come. So far so good. However, the story doesn’t end there. I want you to note that God didn’t say anything situational or ambiguous. He gives a blanket statement with no wiggle room.

Well, the king was not excited about Joe’s response, so he sends another group of even more important people. Now here’s where Joe gets it wrong. He starts by telling this group that he can’t do more than God tells him to, no matter what he is offered, but then tells them to stay so that Joe can ask again. Now there is no reason for Joe to ask. He knows the answer. My guess is that he is hoping that God will give him a little wiggle room so he can get some of the riches the king is offering. After all, have you ever asked God about something you really wanted that you knew wasn’t his will, but you really wanted a loophole? I have.

Now here is where things get interesting. God tells Joe he can go, but warns him not to do anything more God allows. However, God puts an angel in Joe’s path with instructions to kill him, instructions which are not actually carried out because Joe’s donkey can see the angel. By the way, for those who haven’t figured it out, Joe’s real name is Balaam. So Balaam and the donkey and the angel have a conversation, and eventually Balaam goes on his way.

Now, I personally don’t believe God was actually intending for Balaam to die. He knew the donkey would stop; he allowed the donkey to see the angel and to explain things to Balaam. Instead I think God was teaching Balaam a lesson: a lesson he still hasn’t quite learned at this point, and a lesson that we could benefit from.

Balaam is brought to a place where he can see some of the Israelites. He has Balak (the king) offer sacrifices and goes to meet God to see what he should say. Balaam then blesses the Israelites. Then Balak takes Balaam to another of a different part of the people of Israel. Balaam has Balak over another sacrifice and he goes to talk to God again. And, once again, Balaam blesses the Israelites. (Surprise, surprise). It is at the next point of the story that I believe Balaam finally gets it. Balak takes him to a third view, and the sacrifices happen again. However, here the story changes slightly: “When Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go, as at other times, to look for omens, but set his face toward the wilderness. And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe. And the Spirit of God came upon him,” Numbers 24:1-2 (ESV). And then Balaam proceeds to bless Israel the third time. I believe that this is where Balaam finally gets it. There’s no reason for him to seek direction; God made things clear from the beginning. The only reason to ask was in hope that God would change his mind or allow Balaam his own way. Now Balaam has aligned his thinking and desires with God’s.

Balaam isn’t the only person in the Bible who did this kind of thing. Even Moses, who was the greatest of Old Testament figures, argues with God quite a bit at the burning bush. If you don’t believe me, reread Exodus 3 and 4. Note that Aaron is appointed as spokesperson for Moses only because Moses insists, even after God promises “I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak” Exodus 4:12b (ESV). Ever wonder what might have been different if Moses had trusted God there? I think of things like the golden calf episode where Aaron gets things completely wrong. Moses, of course, isn’t being subtle and asking for direction when he knows better: he’s just flat arguing with God. And God lets him have his way, just as he allowed Balaam to go with Balak’s messengers.

Let’s ask God for direction, but let’s be careful that we’re not trying to get our own way. The worst might happen: God might give it to us.