I Need a Donkey, Please

I have often wondered what the disciples were thinking when Jesus told them to go get a donkey. Crowds were gathering. Blind men had just received their sight. Excitement was brewing. Vendors were walking up and down the streets with popcorn and cotton candy.  Neon glow bracelets were selling like hot cakes. The anticipation of what was to come was at an all-time high.

Surely the disciples were getting excited, too. I mean, this is what they had signed up for, right? To be at the Messiah’s right hand when He took over? To be on the “inside” when He was officially crowned King? The Passover was near. Crowds were in Jerusalem. He was making His way there. I imagine the disciples made a quick trip to Men’s Wearhouse to look nice for the events that were about to unfold. Finally, the three years of “training” were about to come to an end.

And Jesus ordered them to get a donkey.

A donkey.

Not a white horse. Not a military war horse. Not an army with heavy artillery.

A donkey.

It would have been one thing if Jesus told them to look for a big, strong horse first. Then, if they couldn’t find one to fetch a donkey. But that’s not what He said. He told them to go get a donkey. A small, gentle, humble, beast of burden. Jesus would not be riding in high and mighty, above the people on a big horse. No, people would have to look down to see Him! He would have to rearrange His legs so his feet wouldn’t drag the ground.

Do you know what the disciples did? They obeyed. They went and found things just as Jesus said. It had to have felt weird. It had to have been a bit uncomfortable. It must have seemed extremely bizarre for them, considering the circumstances. Yet they obeyed Jesus and found things just as He said.

Mike Glenn often says, “God won’t show you the next thing until you obey the first thing.” In other words, God won’t reveal what is next until you follow Him in what He is leading you to do first. We want to know “what if?” We want to know how it’s going to shake out. We want to know if people will laugh at us for getting a donkey. But that’s not faith, is it? Faith is believing God even when it seems odd and doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.

The disciples didn’t do everything right, but we can learn a big lesson from them here. They obeyed the weird command and found things just as Jesus had said. They obeyed the first thing and got to experience the next thing.

What’s the first thing for you right now? What is God calling you, commanding you, leading you to do right now? It probably seems weird. It probably feels bizarre. It probably makes you a bit uneasy. But you know He is leading you to it. He won’t show you the next thing until you obey the first.