I didn’t know there was a problem until I heard the commotion by the front door. That’s when I rounded the corner, halted, and stared. In our open doorway, the pizza delivery guy held his shoe in the air, like he was ready to strike my husband, Paul. What on earth?
This all started last year when my husband and I discovered the most incredible cauliflower crust pizza at a local Italian place called Black Olive. We couldn’t tell the difference between a regular thin crust and their cauliflower version. It was like tricking our brains to choose extra veggies over carbs. What a win.
Or so we thought…
“What’s going on?” I asked, just as the delivery guy smacked the threshold of our front door. I stepped back.
“There he is!” Paul pointed, ignoring me.
The pizza guy whacked the door frame again and I winced, staring back and forth between them.
“Man, you really saved the day. I should tip extra,” Paul joked, shaking the guy’s hand. They laughed.
“I’m sorry. What’s going on?” I asked again.
“Black widow spider,” the delivery guy explained, sliding his foot back into his Birkenstock.
Paul nodded. “Yeah, he was handing over the pizza and a black widow dropped right between us.” He motioned to the shriveled spider carcass on the porch. “Thanks for the pizza. And the heroics.”
The delivery guy chuckled. “No problem.”
But I wasn’t laughing. There was a black widow spider just dangling from our front door. If someone had been bitten, our pizza night could have ended at the ER. The notion gave me full body shivers and the whole thing got me thinking (as these things often do)…
Have you ever reached for a blessing, just knowing in your heart it was God’s will, and God smacked your hand away? He saw something you couldn’t see. And even though it hurt in the moment, down the road you realized He was only protecting you from yourself.
* Raises hand.
Uh, I’ve done this. Lots of times. I’ve prayed so hard for an outcome that seemed right to me. I didn’t understand why God was putting a “stop payment” on my blessing, till years down the road when the big picture came together and I thanked Him profusely.
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There were plenty of guys in the Bible who experienced this too, stumped about why God blocked their path. Joseph was imprisoned for something he didn’t do. Peter was chastised after he cut off Malchus’s ear to protect Jesus. But my favorite character utterly confused by the Lord’s redirection was Balaam.
Quick recap: It all started when this guy Balak, the king of Moab, offered a bribe so Balaam the seer might curse the Israelites, God’s chosen people. Balak promised honor and great reward. At first Balaam resisted the temptation. But then his greedy heart took the wheel and he set off on his trusty donkey to meet Balak anyway. (Tsk tsk tsk.)
“But God’s anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the way as his adversary…” (Numbers 22:22).
Balaam was traveling on his merry way when God placed an angel of the Lord, with a sword, in the roadway. Though Balaam couldn’t see the angel, the donkey could, and she ran off the road into a field. (Good girl.) Balaam, totally clueless, beat the donkey and continued his journey. Then, as the road narrowed between two walls, the donkey saw the angel again and ran into the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot. So Balaam beat her again.
Finally the angel blocked the path completely and the donkey lay down, unwilling to take one more step. Balaam, quite irate, beat the donkey with his staff. And that’s when something totally awesome (and kind of hilarious) happened…
“Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey and she said to Balaam, ‘What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?’ And Balaam said to the donkey, ‘Because you have made a fool of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you,’” (Numbers 22:28-29).
In verse 31 the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, with his sword drawn. Balaam fell on his face, confessing his sin. (I seriously hope Balaam found a carrot for that poor donkey after that.)
Obviously God could have struck down Balaam on the road (or by fire from heaven or plague or anything else). But instead God showed mercy. And even as Balaam was furious with the donkey, he later realized she was an instrument of God’s mercy. The donkey had saved his life.
It’s a hard pill for me to swallow when God smacks my hand away (or slams a delivery guy’s shoe next to my husband’s head) to protect me or my family or our future. Sometimes God’s plans don’t feel great. In our limited knowledge, we hurt. We question. And it’s not until the shriveled, dangerous carcass of our plan falls to the ground in front of us that we drop to our knees in gratitude—confessing our sin, and recognizing:
There will be afternoons of delicious pizza. There will be wayward donkeys and black widow spiders. We simply must seek God’s direction.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths,” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Thank you, God, for pizza delivery guys in Birkenstocks. But mostly thank you for redirecting our clueless steps on a daily basis.
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death,” (Proverbs 14:12).
“God often works in the unseen. Just because we can’t see it or feel it doesn’t mean He isn’t working.” -Lysa Terkeurst
My book GOD STORIES is available for purchase here. Or, to listen to the full audiobook for FREE, click here.
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