“Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice” (Prov.13:10).
Sometimes we can learn from unexpected sources, but listening with humility is important. That’s when God places witnesses just where and when they are needed to teach a lesson. For example, in 2 Kings 5:1-15, God used a servant girl belonging to Naaman’s wife to urge Naaman to reach out to the prophet Elisha for healing from leprosy. Even then, it took other servants to get him to follow the prophet’s simple instructions to bathe in the river Jordan. Once he humbled himself and obeyed, lesson learned! “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel.” Sometimes the servant is wiser than the master.
Numbers 22:21-39 highlights Balaam’s spiritual blindness and God’s ability to reveal His presence, power, and purpose by using even a talking donkey to prove that sometimes a creature without human reason can have a better perception of God’s intervention than a prophet can.
These are just two reminders that our self-centeredness and pride can get in the way of our being open to how and what God may be trying to show us in unexpected places. Christians must remain alert to hear a word from the Lord throughout each day and respond accordingly. Our interactions with “hidden teachers “may occur any time or place. Isaiah 30:20-21 says it best: “…your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying ‘this is the way; walk in it.’ “
Speak, Lord. Your servant is listening.