Out Of The Mouth Of…

OUT OF THE MOUTH OF…

Some of you reading today will remember this and some of you that are younger will not – but back in the 1950’s & 60’s there was a show called Kids Say The Darndest Things.  It was developed originally in 1945 for Art Linkletter’s radio show then carried over to his television show of the same name.  According to Wikipedia:  “The host would begin a conversation by posing a question about life topics to a child, who usually responds with their own innocent, often comedic perspectives on the various topics.”  Part of the humor resulted from the reaction Mr. Linkletter had to some of the unexpected and hilarious responses of the kids.     

If you’re not familiar with it (or even if you are) I think you’ll enjoy watching this short little clip: https://www.facebook.com/reel/4655012011192294

So you’re probably wondering what this has to do with anything – especially anything spiritual?  Okay, fair question.  I’ll try to shed some light on it.

I’m certain that I’ve mentioned this before – during 2025 I used a book during my morning devotional time – titled Hearing His Voice written by Chris Tiegreen.  It has a one page, easy-to-read lesson each day that was a true blessing for me for the year.  This has been such a great study with some reminders of what I already knew; but, also an introduction to some wonderfully new ideas and thoughts regarding hearing the voice of God.

So a few days ago the devotion was based on the story found in Numbers 22.  In this story the Israelites had arrived in Moab and because of the large number of Israelites, the Moabites were fearful.  So Balak, the son of the king of Moab, sent for a well known, greedy, wicked pagan prophet named Balaam, planning to have him put a curse on the Israelites.  But God appeared to Balaam and told him “‘You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.’”  (NKJV)  So Balaam sent Balak’s representatives away, refusing to go with them.   

When they arrived back home they told Balak that Balaam had refused to come with them.  So he found other, more important representatives and sent them back offering a large reward and honors for him to curse the Israelites.  This time God said to him:  “‘If the men come to call you, rise and go with them; but only the word which I speak to you—that you shall do.’” (NKJV)  What did Balaam do?  Verse 21 says:  “So Balaam rose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab.” (NKJV)

I’ll confess, the next part of the story has always confused me because verse 22a says:  “Then God’s anger was aroused because he went…”  (NKJV)  Why did God get angry with him when He’d told him to go with them?  Ahhh, I discovered the key was that before God told him to go, He clearly said “If the men come to call you…”  But Balaam didn’t wait for the men to come to him again, he got up and went with them.  He was greedy and anxious for the honor and the riches promised to him.  And let’s not forget the fact that God had already told him once not to do it – twice He’d told him “You shall not..”  

As they’re traveling along, an angel of the Lord blocked the way – Balaam couldn’t see the angel, but his donkey could.  She reacted three different times trying to avoid the angel with the drawn sword and three times Balaam beat the donkey into submission.  Finally….”Then the Lord caused the donkey to speak! ‘What have I done that deserves your beating me these three times?’ she asked.  ‘Because you have made me look like a fool!’ Balaam shouted. ‘I wish I had a sword with me, for I would kill you.’  ‘Have I ever done anything like this before in my entire life?’ the donkey asked.  ‘No,’ he admitted.  Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes and he saw the Angel standing in the roadway with drawn sword, and he fell flat on the ground before him.”  (Verses 28-31 TLB)

Mr. Tiegreen pointed out in the devotion: “God went to extreme measures to get the attention of the stubborn prophet.

“Yes, God can speak through anything, even a donkey.  It’s easy to view this story as a myth or fable, but only when we forget that the infinite God who created the universe can do anything He wants at any time through any means.  If He can speak the world into being by the sound of His voice, everything else is simple.  A donkey talking for a few seconds?  Not a problem.  And more than a little humorous.

“Never have contempt  for the crude messengers in your life.  We strain to hear God’s voice through a high-profile speaker or a powerful and popular book, but He often tests us to see if we will also hear Him through that awkward misfit in the congregation or a grossly misspelled quote on Facebook.  If we tune out the unlikely, we are unlikely to hear Him even in the obvious….The medium isn’t the issue; the voice is.  Listen everywhere.”    

God may unexpectedly speak to us out of the mouth of a babe…a brutally honest, uninhibited, insightful, profound truth that a “proper” adult might not ever express.  God may speak to us through a stranger, a meme posted on a social website, a TV show, a book.  Or, He may go to extreme measures and speak to us through a donkey.  We must learn to “Listen everywhere.”

Written by Karran Martin – December 22, 2025

[All bold emphasis is mine]