4-1-16. Numbers 11:21-23. “Is The Lord’s Arm Too Short?”-my devotional

Numbers 11:21-23     Kevin E. Jesmer

Key verse 11:23         4-1-16

“The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s arm too short? Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you.”

Moses knew that God was very upset with the complaints that were coming from some of his people. Though God was angry, he was going to feed his people anyway and weed out those who were complaining. Moses was convinced that God as going to deliver something, but Moses was not sure that the Lord had enough power and resources to provide for the needs of all the people. Look at Numbers 11: 21-22, “21 But Moses said, “Here I am among six hundred thousand men on foot, and you say, ‘I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!’ 22 Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?”

Moses had witnessed, over and over again, God’s power in making amazing miracles come to pass. He saw what only God could bring about, for example the crossing of the Red Sea and the deliverance of three million of his people from slavery in Egypt.  Yet, now he is questioning God’s ability to feed the Israelites as they wandered in the desert. If Moses, who was so close to God, had doubted God’s power, how much easier it is for us to do the same?

God responded to Moses’ statement of unbelief in verse 23, “The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s arm too short? Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you.”  The Lord’s arm, is in reference to the Lord’s power. It was a rebuke to Moses’ statement. God was reminding him of all the previous miracles. He was reminding him of God unlimited power to act and his unlimited resources to provide.

God wants his people to have complete faith in his power to deliver. Especially, he wants leaders like Moses and the seventy elders to have absolute faith in God, for if the leaders don’t have faith, then how can the people have faith. I know that God can work in anyone’s heart at anytime. God is not dependent on the faith of the leaders. But it is safe to a say that God is pleased when leaders have faith in God.

God’s strength never diminishes. He did amazing things in the past. We can not deny that. But what about the present? What about when life gets routine and we seem to get routine things done with our own power? In such times, the strength of God seems to diminish. But God’s strength never diminishes. It is not God changing, but it is our own view of God which is changing.

Complete dependence on God is necessary for any believer no matter where they are in their spiritual maturity and journey. We must never depend on our own understanding, ignoring God’s assessment of the situation. Always remember the past miraculous powers of God and his present power. Then we can come to God for his help, time and time again, as we face daunting challenges.

I am reminded that God’s hand is not too short to deliver. We are praying for the Gospel to go forth the remotest communities in NW Ontario. There are so many resources needed to serve the needs of the community. There are fresh food needs, educators, counselors, missionaries and pastors, houses, healthcare facilities, mentors, and the list goes on and on. The Native population is growing quickly. There is no way that human beings can provide what is needed. But the need still stands. What do we do? Do we dwell in our unbelief and say like Moses did in verse 22, “Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?”  Or do we engage our faith and believe the Lord? “Is the Lord’s arm too short? Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you.”  God will provide, according to his will. He will come through in his way and in his time.

When we pray, we can trust that God will come through in his way and in his time. We sometimes expect the Lord to answer our prayers by blessing the work through our own ministry. For example, in regards to campus ministry, we may pray that God will provide for the emotional and spiritual needs of campus students who seem to have everything in a material sense but a struggling inwardly. We rejoice when we realize the Lord’s arm is long enough and strong enough to provide. And we are convinced that his provision means that our own small ministry will be blessed along with the answering of the prayers. But maybe not.

God will surely answer the prayers that the campus students’ emotional and spiritual needs will be met, but he is in no way obligated to bless them through the ministry of the people who are praying. If he does, great….if he works in some other way, great too, because it is all according to his will and not our will to build up our own ministry. Pray and let go and let God be God.  Be happy when some other ministry is blessed because of our prayers and efforts.

There is also the issue about hoping for things to happen when it is not actually the will of God. Lot’s of people and ministries have their own pet projects and their own plans that are not God’s projects and plans. We sometimes want to go one way and God is leading us in another. If we are determined to trust in the Lord and depend on his strong arm to provide and accomplish, then our prayers must be in line with the will of God. In this chapter, Moses’ prayers and hopes were inline with God’s. And so there was no problem. We must never keep holding onto the wrong things, for decades sometimes, praying for God’s blessings, when God never intends to assist.

Prayer: “Lord, I trust you, that you are strong enough and powerful enough to provide for all the people whom you are concerned about? We pray and we preach and trust in you. Nothing is too hard for you Lord.”

One word; The Lord’s arm is not too short. It is more than long enough.