“And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? And he said, Nay.” (Numbers 22:30)

Simply put, the testimony of Balaam’s donkey was one of obedience to her master. The donkey had been a humble servant all the days that she had been owned by her master – a testimony that could not be denied.

Jesus asked the Jews, “Which of you convinceth me of sin?” (John 8:46a). And in the second part of the verse He asked, “And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?” (John 8:46b)

Jesus is saying to the people that they should believe that He is who they should be looking for, because His Spoken Testimony clearly lines up with His Living Testimony. Jesus’ life and the works that He did (the miracles and His life of obedience) gave witness to Him being the One that should come. He was and is the fulfillment of many prophesies.

Not that we will attempt to fulfill any prophesies, but our life’s testimony should line up with the spoken testimony that we have given. The testimony in which we have confessed, or professed, that Jesus Christ has made us free from sin, and has given us liberty to live a life of Godliness. A life that proclaims obedience to our Master, Father, Lord!

Our life should be one of constant obedience to the point that, even when we don’t seem to be following routine patterns or religious practices; people and our earthly masters, or those who are in authority over us, will know that it is for a purpose.

For Balaam’s donkey, that purpose was to keep Balaam from destruction. To Balaam, it seemed like rebellion when the donkey turned “out of the way”; because “the way” probably was a routine way for him and his donkey.

But our ways are not God’s ways and our thoughts are not God’s thoughts. And it is the Goodness of God that leads us to repentance. And God tells us to be subject unto the higher powers (those in authority over us).

A crisis in our life is not a routine thing, but these crises are allowed by God to accomplish His purpose in our lives. Sometimes He allows our foot to get crushed, so that we won’t lose our life. I think my “foot-crushing” was coming to prison. By coming through prison, I was brought unto the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ; and delivered from the “sword” that had been drawn and surely would have been used, if I had continued on my routine pathway.

Now, my routine pathway is a testimony of obedience to my Lord, my God, my Savior, my King!!

The donkey was a servant unto her master. In verse 30, she acknowledged who she belonged to (read 1 Corinthians 6:19-20) and proclaimed her faithfulness up unto that present time.

Can we boldly testify to the truth of Jesus as our Master and Owner, and to the fact that we have been living a life of obedience?

And ask yourself about the two other servants of Balaam, and what they knew and could testify about the obedience of the donkey. No doubt they were familiar with her. No doubt they depended upon her to bear a little of their load (burden) at some time. Could they give a positive testimony about “the donkey”? They probably could not understand the purpose of this episode, if they witnessed the whole thing. But they most likely could not deny the history of an obedient donkey along a familiar simple pathway.

Acts 11:26 describes how the disciples were first called by the Christian name. The testimony is that some of them assembled themselves together with the Church for a whole year and “taught much people.”

We are called to have a testimony of obedience as the Church, and as individual members. If somebody says you have been acting like a donkey, be sure they are saying it in regards to an “Obedient Servant of his Master.” Amen!