Friday, April 11, 2008

How Long is God's Arm?

The Lord answered Moses, "Is the Lord's arm too short? You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you." -- Numbers 11:23
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It was just a normal day for Moses! Fire had consumed the outskirts of the camp. He had two million people to take care of for which he truly needed help. And now the rabble, the non-Israelites who had come out of Egypt with the Israelites, had taken up the "O Unhappy Day Chorus" because of the rations that had been set before them. Their complaint was a simple one: they needed some variety in their diet.
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And, true to form, they swayed the crowd to begin to complain about the food. Numbers 11 records in verse 4-6, "If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost (emphasis mine) --also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!" They forgot how hard the food was to come by and how depressing their work was!
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And now Moses has another problem. God isn't happy with these people. And when God ain't happy, nobody's happy. Moses is disturbed as well by the attitude of these people. And in all the chaos of the day, God, though not really thrilled about the rebellion of His people against His provision, promises to provide meat for His people, enough meat that they will be up to their ears in what will soon become foul fowl!
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Moses then asks, I think out of both curiosity and disbelief, a long question that essentially boils down to, "How are you going to do that?" And God's answer is a simple one that challenges both Moses' inquisitiveness and his doubting, "Is the Lord's arm too short?"

Bingo! There it is! Moses had seen everything that had happened, from the plagues to the Passover, from the burning bush to the burning sky, from no people to tons of people, and he still asks God if he can do it!
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Moral to the story for you and me: If God says He will do it, He will do it and He has more than enough power to do what He says. I sometimes wonder how God can help little churches keep afloat and how He can take care of thousands of missionaries in hostile lands. I wonder how He can heal the sick, while some we pray for so diligently pass away from this life. I wonder how I will survive from day to day. But I often miss the fact that all of this, every little iota of it all, is God's planning and work. So, next time we don't see how something is going to happen we need to remember this lesson from the life of Moses. Love the Lord and have a normal day -- God will still be in it.

Father, I confess my ignorance to the might and majesty of your ways. Forgive me when I doubt you and help me to accept your blessings, even if they aren't what I think I need. I know you know all about me. And thank you, for Jesus, the greatest blessing of all. He really is what I need. When I act ignorantly, please forgive me, put my feet on the right path, and help me press on. In Jesus name, Amen!

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