You Love God — But Are You Actually in the Game?

The Crowd vs The Donkey

Matthew 21:9 — "And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." This was real excitement. They meant it. They gave Jesus a royal entrance. But their excitement had no root in commitment — and when the pressure came, they changed their tune completely.

The donkey, by contrast, is described in Luke 19:30 as one "whereon yet never man sat." No training. No experience. No status. A donkey does not have the reputation of a horse. A king on a donkey in battle would be vulnerable. Yet Jesus asked for that specific donkey — and it carried Him into Jerusalem without complaint, without fanfare, without stopping.

Why God Uses a Donkey Instead of a Horse

Zechariah 9:9, written hundreds of years before the event, already prophesied: "Behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass." The donkey had a prophetic word on its life before it knew what to do with it. You may feel untrained, unqualified, stuck in the same place — but there is a prophetic purpose on your life that is not dependent on your resume.

God uses the donkey specifically because when a donkey carries Jesus, no one gives the credit to the donkey. The honour goes where it belongs. A horse would attract attention to itself. The donkey moves the mission without claiming the glory.

The Problem With Living in the Crowd

The crowd reacted to what happened. The donkey responded to what was asked. That difference is everything. Reaction is driven by feelings — when the feeling is high, you cheer; when the feeling drops, you disappear. Response is driven by commitment — whether the feeling is present or not, the work gets done.

Many believers have prophetic words, conference moments, altar moments, excitement in worship — but when Jesus asks them to do something specific, it stops there. James 1:22 puts it plainly: "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." The deception is subtle: the emotional response feels like faith. But faith without movement is not faith.

The crowd disappears when things get hard. The donkey carries the weight regardless. Which one describes your relationship with God right now?

This Is a Year of Carrying, Not Clapping

The declaration for this season is not "I feel led" — because when the feeling stops, the leading stops. It is not "I am praying about it" — because when the fight comes from both sides, the praying also stops. The call is to move. To carry. To avail yourself to what God is asking, whether you feel qualified or not.

The donkey's mission made history. Today we still talk about that donkey — not because of who the donkey was, but because of the one it carried. That is what commitment to God's assignment looks like.

"The crowd had a moment. The donkey had a mission. The crowd's moment is forgotten. The donkey's mission is still being preached."

— Pastor Ricardo Zaal

If you are in Pretoria North, come on a Sunday — these messages are preached live every week at Fountain of Grace International, 323 B Danie Theron Street.