© by George W. Black
Has your faith been stretched lately? Even Moses had his moments.
In Numbers 11, Moses is surrounded by 600,000 men unhappy with God’s provision of Manna after they were delivered from Egyptian bondage. Reluctantly God promises them meat.
Moses seems to cop an attitude when he tells God, “So where’s it coming from? Even if all the flocks and herds were butchered, would that be enough? Even if all the fish in the sea were caught, would that be enough?”
Have you ever heard yourself talk to God like that? Nothing but doubt and unbelief pouring out? It definitely wasn’t Moses brightest moment.
And then God asks the question that drills down to Moses soul and uncovers the real root of the problem. “God answered Moses, “So, do you think I can’t take care of you?””
It wasn’t just the magnitude of the thing needed that was messing with Moses. It was much simpler than that. It was really about trusting God to take care of him.
As it turns out, God was more than able to deliver on His promise, even if Moses couldn’t work out how it would happen. After all, how did the leper work out the process by which Jesus cleansed his leprosy, or the blind man who regained his eyesight? How did the disciples work out how Jesus fed 5,000 with five small Barley loaves and two small fish?
The answer is never about how a thing can be done when we pray, but only do we trust Him to take care of us.
As for God answering Moses prayer? “A wind set in motion by God swept quails in from the sea. They piled up to a depth of about three feet in the camp and as far out as a day’s walk in every direction.”
A trained walker can cover 20 to 30 miles in a day. But even half that distance is a massive amount of quail, three feet high. Is this the exceedingly, abundantly, above all we can think or imagine? I think God was letting Moses and the people know He is in control of the “how”, we just have to trust that He is able and will.
I love that the Bible shows us Moses’ human frailty, and not just perfection. This should give us hope that even when we don’t have perfect faith, God still does.
But He wants us to learn from these moments, and trust Him more and more. Your faith may be small today, but it can become great faith, and this brings Him great delight.
Are you facing what seems to be an impossible situation? My encouragement to you today is to find God’s promise in His Word, and then pray it out in faith. Don’t worry about how God is going to do it. That’s His job. If He tells you to do something, do it. He knows what it takes to get the miracle.
God is a good, good Father. Trust and obey Him no matter what, knowing that His tender mercies and loving kindness are always at work to care for you.
All for Jesus, George W. Black
