"...kiss my..."

"After all that punishment I had dealt the beast that day, all I could think was, 'after this is over, I need to kiss my ass'." This may be what the story would have read like in the King James Version, had Balaam's recounting of the event to others, been recorded in Numbers 22. The Bible says that he smote the animal over and over in an effort to make her move in a direction that God was against. The story tells us that Balaam entered a conversation with the ass, saying "...if I only had a sword, I would have killed you." In reality, this man's beast saved his life - and what did the animal receive for it? You guessed it - a real ass beating! Now don't go and get your religious devil's riled up too quick because of the "play" on words. There's a powerful point here if you will see with your heart.(By the way, there are several great sermon titles afforded here if we allowed for the true vernacular of the KJV. Here are a few: "Hauling Ass", "The Talking Ass", "Stop Beating Your Ass", and my personal favorite, "Kicking Your Ass!".) This donkey was perceived to be an obstacle for Balaam and his own plans. Yet the stubbornness of the donkey prevented Balaam from walking into sure peril. The Angel of the Lord said, "if she would not have turned back, I would have slain you, and saved her life."
I wonder how many times in our own lives we have faced perceived obstacles, that in reality, is the providence of God at work in our lives. How many times have we stubbornly forced our way past resistance, only to find out that the grass, on the other side of the fence that we hurdled, was not that great after all? You see there are times that God is watching out for your best interest even when you're not really aware of it. Many of those times we even question God as to why He's saying "NO" - when obviously, to us anyway - "YES" would be so much better. That promotion, that new car, that girl or that guy was the thing that would have fit perfectly into our plans. "Lord,I need it my way, and right now! Those donkeys that are in my way and keeping me from getting to where I want to go, need to be shot!" Not so quick there young fella'. God may be keeping you from a mistake that could cost you the rest of your life!

This may help:
1)Perceived obstacles may be the exact opposite of your perception. These may be the stepping stones or the open door to your most beneficial opportunity.
2)Try to discover the source of your resistance. If it's God, I'd advise you to STOP!
3)Hold On! The thing you are 'hating on' right now, may be the thing you love the most later.
4)Look Again! There may be more to it than you see initially.

I hope the point is taken well. Believe it or not, I'm NOT encouraging the use of slang. I'm not trying to be a wise-guy or disrespectful in any way. But what I promise to do, as best I know how, is to be real with you on these blogs. I hope this is an attention-getter! There are so many life's lessons that we sometimes miss or overlook in the scripture. You may say I could have gotten the point across another way, but, one thing for sure, you won't ever forget this one! The blog where the Preacher said... "there may be times that I need to 'kiss my ass'."