"18And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the LORD will give you flesh, and ye shall eat.
19Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days;
20But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the LORD which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?
21And Moses said, The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand footmen; and thou hast said, I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month.
22Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to suffice them?
23And the LORD said unto Moses, Is the LORD'S hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not." -Numbers 11:18-23
Here is Moses' the man who has talked face to face to God and he is questioning how God is going to provide the fulfillment of his word. First he looks at what he has around him, the cattle, then looks at the possibilities, the fish of the sea and tries to figure out how God is going to make good on His promise. Then God asked a question: "Are my arms shortened?"
As I read this I had to admit this is how I have been looking at God's ability to provide for me. Looking around me for what I have that could meet my needs, and if that seemed implausible I looked at what I could possibly get that could meet my needs. This passage challenged me to just sit back and watch my God do what He does best; amaze me with His loving kindness and generosity.
My God: Measures the oceans in the palm of his hand - Is. 40:12;
knows and understands all my thoughts - Ps 139:2;
Fed 5,000 people - Mat. 14:15-21;
know the stars by name - Ps. 147:4.
This is the God that promises to supply all my needs, this is the God I try to help by figuring out how He can accomplish my goals... how humbling to think that He knows all my thoughts and still loves me and still provides beyond my needs.
So what about you? Are God's arms shortened?? Will you look around to see how He can provide or do you want to join me in sitting back and watching the God of the universe provide His way? This is the God who can provide a whole nation with enough meat to feed them for a month, "till it came out their nostrils".
