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?” Numbers 22: 28
My hands are dirty. I dare not lift them up to the heavens. My tongue is uncultured, my mouth is foul. I dare not speak for God, yet he used me as his mouthpiece. I am bad, but he calls me good. I have no spotlight shining on me, yet he calls me a shining light.
I am dumb, stupid, and lowly. I cannot talk, I only bray, and that irritates everyone around me. But somehow, I ended up at the King’s service. I once conveyed the words of the King. The truth is: I am no messenger of God. I am a donkey. Yes, I am a donkey, and I am popularly known as the talking donkey. The event at Yazzi field changed my life; a donkey was used as a mouthpiece of the King. That was unprecedented!
It had fascinated my peers. It baffled the prophets and every other creature that heard or read the story of my life. Who would have thought God would use a braying tongue like mine as a mouthpiece? My kind doesn’t talk, we are no orators. Talking is not a donkey thing, but God didn’t seem to care. I may not know much about God, but one thing I know for sure is that, when He looked around at Yazzi field for someone to use, nobility was no criterion.
God can use anyone, even the imperfect ones.
God can use anyone, anywhere, and anyhow. God doesn’t collect a special breed of people that he uses. He called us all.
God shows up in the most unlikely places, uses the most unlikely of persons, to do the most powerful things.
Yes, God used a donkey to instruct a Prophet.
God used Moses, who was a stutterer
Gideon, a fearful man, and a runt in his family
Elijah, who was suicidal.
Jonah, the guy who ran from God.
Peter, who denied him thrice.
Lazarus, who was dead.
The twelve disciples can’t pray for an hour.
Do you still think God can’t use you? Please think again. If he can use me (a donkey), then he can use you.
Jars of Clay carry Treasures of Grace
Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4 vs 7, “but we have this treasure in clay jars to show that its extraordinary power comes from God and not from us.”
Water takes the shape of the vessel it empties into. In a very similar manner, any vessel God breathes into takes the form of God. In God’s great house, jars of clay carry treasures of grace.
When God stepped on mountain Horeb, the mountain breathed fire, yet the flame would not consume the bush. Exodus 3: 1-2
When God descended on temples made of bricks, the glory of God filled those temples. 2 Chronicles 7: 1
And when God breathes into the lifeless mold from the dust of the ground, the man became a living soul. Genesis 2: 7.
God is not at all preoccupied with the quality or the lack of quality of the vessel as much as the strength of the power that fills that vessel. The emptier the vessel, the fitter or more qualified it becomes to draw at the well of grace.
So who said you are unfit to be his ambassador on earth? Who said you are fit for nothing in his purpose? Tell them you can do all things through Christ, who strengthens you.
In God’s great service house, the miracle is never about those jars of clay; it is the power that fills them.
I’d rather be like a braying donkey with God’s message on my lips than a crowd-electrifying orator with a message of my own.
You can boast in your weakness
If you should boast at all, don’t boast in your strength. Boast in your wrestling. Boast in your failures. Boast in your weakness. God’s strength finds its place in your weakness.
Don’t boast about your spiritual workouts because you cannot muscle up enough to stand before God by his standards.
Don’t boast about how good you are because your righteousness is as filthy rags to him.
Don’t boast because you are not a sinner. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Don’t boast about what you have achieved. You are merely a vessel, a talking donkey.
We have not been handpicked to represent God; we are not the best in his collection. We are better than none, and we are worse than none. Grace made it all possible. We earned nothing!
Conclusion
I am that donkey that talked! I am that messenger with a message he is not worthy of conveying.
I am that ambassador representing the country he is alien to.
I am that forerunner speaking of the one whose shoelace he is not worthy of untying.
I am that rock on which the Church of the King I denied three times is built.
I am that harlot that helped God’s people enter the promised land. I am that adulteress that anointed the feet of Christ.
I am the messenger of the King I dare not speak of.
I am bad, yet he uses me.
I was nothing when he found me.
I was nothing when he chose me.
I was nothing when he called me.
I am nothing other than a talking donkey in his service.
I am all God wants me to be in Christ Jesus.
