One of the strangest stories in Scripture is the moment Balaam’s donkey starts talking. Most people remember it because of the miracle. A donkey sees an angel, refuses to move, gets beaten for it, and then God opens its mouth so it can speak. It is one of those passages that makes people smile, but the lesson inside it hits harder than we might expect.

Balaam was a man with influence. People came to him for spiritual direction. They trusted his insight. Yet he walked a path that looked logical to him while ignoring what God was trying to show him. The donkey saw what Balaam couldn’t. The donkey understood the danger Balaam was blind to. The donkey saved him from his own ambition.

Leadership works the same way.

There are moments when our vision narrows. Deadlines, pressure, opportunity, and ego pull us forward so fast that we stop listening. We keep pushing. We assume the path is clear because it looks clear. Meanwhile God might be placing obstacles in front of us for our protection.

Sometimes those obstacles look like difficult conversations. Sometimes they look like a project that keeps stalling. Sometimes they look like tension we don’t want to deal with. Sometimes they look like a team member who sees something we refuse to recognize.

Leaders get themselves in trouble when they mistake resistance for failure instead of protection.

Numbers 22 shows us a crucial truth. God cares more about our obedience than our momentum. Balaam was so focused on where he wanted to go that he could not see what God was saving him from. The donkey became the voice of correction. God used something unexpected to expose the condition of Balaam’s heart.

Strong leaders slow down long enough to ask the question Balaam never did:

“Is God stopping me or am I just annoyed by the delay?”

This is part of why I wrote Christian Leadership in the Professional World. Leaders face decisions every day that require more than instinct. They require clarity, humility, and the willingness to let God interrupt our plans when necessary. The book lays out practical frameworks for leading with that kind of awareness in high-pressure environments.

If you want a resource that helps you stay aligned with God’s direction instead of being driven by your own pace, the book is available now in Kindle, paperback, and hardcover.

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G2K5G85M?ref_=quick_view_ref_tag

Sometimes the greatest gift God gives a leader is a roadblock. Sometimes the donkey in front of you is the grace that keeps you from walking off a cliff.