Crisis of faith……

“And Moses said, “The people whom I am among are six hundred thousand men on foot;

yet You have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat for a whole month.

 

Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to provide enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the

sea be gathered together for them, to provide enough for them?

 

And the Lord said to Moses, “Has the Lord’s arm been shortened?

Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not.”

Numbers 11:21-23

 

“And the Lord said to Moses, “Has the Lord’s arm been shortened?”

 

What are you trusting God for today? Are you moving forward in faith

or are you in doubt?

Things have been crazy in my country at the moment. There have been fuel shortages and an increase of

prices on commodities. I remember going to the shops and looking at the prices and

getting a bit fearful. Memories of 2008 came flooding in! It’s happening again I thought.

But after getting home I got into my word and reminded myself of God’s promises of protection,

provision and favor in the situation I find myself.

I could talk about how bad things are in my country but it’s happening every where!

The systems of the world are crumbling and falling apart.

Everything is decaying and degrading.

Everything is corroding and falling to pieces.

But that doesn’t mean I should stop trusting YAH to accomplish everything He promised me.

His blessings and faithfulness are not dependent on what’s happening around me.

No matter how crazy things are He is asking me the same thing He asked Moses,

No matter how hard things are in your life at the moment He is also asking you the same

thing,

 

“The Lord said to Moses, Has the Lord’s hand (His ability and power) become short

(thwarted and inadequate)?”

 

Moses had a crisis of faith when YAH said He would feed the people meat

for a whole month. He simply couldn’t fathom how He would do it but YAH

knew what He would do. Moses would never have guessed how it would happen

and we need to realize that we can’t even begin to fathom His greatness.

In the midst of impossible odds He will make a way for you.

The truth is this,

 

His hand is not too short!

 

He can and will help you and answer your prayer no matter how impossible

it seems. No matter how crazy the circumstances around you seem He will

save you, He will deliver you. His hand is not too short!

Don’t be afraid to pray those bold prayers of healing, breakthrough,

restoration and the list goes on. Don’t hold back.

Trust Him because He will make a way for you!

His hand is not too short….ever!

 

Blessings to you friends

 

Rolain

Eleven days…….

 

It is [only] eleven days journey from Horeb by the way of

Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea [on Canaan’s border;

yet Israel took forty years to get beyond it]. Deuteronomy 1:2

 

I have heard so many teachings on this passage right here.

And in nearly all the teachings I have heard on this scripture

it would always be about how Israel sinned,

“Just imagine if Israel obeyed the Lord”, they would say.

Their journey would have taken eleven days, only eleven

days!!!

 

I think it is something to think about but at the same time I think

there is more to the story.

As human beings we will always sin. Yes, Israel went to the extreme

in the wilderness but sins are sins. They could off taken eleven days

if they were perfect but they were not and instead it took them forty

years!

Just imagine if they managed to make it in eleven days???

There would be no stories of disobedience and rebellion,

lack of trust and so on. Nothing would of being dealt with!

The Israelite’s needed the forty years! In that time there

was death, repentance, and a whole lot of other things

that needed to take place. This is how the word puts it:

 

And you shall [earnestly] remember all the way which the Lord

your God led you these forty years in the wilderness, to humble

and to prove you, to know what was in your [mind and] heart,

whether you would keep His commandments or not.

And He humbled you and allowed you to hunger and fed you

with manna, which you did not know nor did your fathers know,

that He might make you realize and personally know that man

does not live by bread only, but man lives by every word that

proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. Deuteronomy 8:2, 3

 

God LED Israel for forty years so He could reveal what was

in their hearts! More precisely He wanted to know if their

hearts were devoted to Him……

He wanted them to make Him first in their hearts!

The Israelite’s went through so much in the forty years. They

would of missed out on so much if they took eleven days!

 

Let’s bring this home……

Just imagine it took you eleven days to get to the place God had

for you??? A measly eleven days!!!

I was a mess and it’s taken me at least fifteen years to begin to

get out of it but there is still much work to be done! I fail God

daily, I abandon Him daily, like Peter I disown Him by my

actions a lot, when I should be praying I watch TV or

something crazy like that.

But the good news is, from the first step I took on this journey

there has been growth. My relationship with God has deepened.

I have seen Him in a new way. My faith in Him has become

stronger. The failures, the hard times, the times of doubt, the

chastening, have drawn me closer to God.

I needed the forty years, as hard and difficult as they are,

I needed them!

What about you? Do you wish it would take you eleven days?

God wants to know what’s in your heart. He will test you

in the desert. He will allow times of hunger so He can

humble you so you can know His words are all you need!

Know this, God has a plan for you in the wilderness!

You are not there by mistake……

God has allowed times of hunger to test you, will you look to

Him or will you complain and murmur??

Will you lose your faith in Him in those times??

 

Teach me Your way, Lord, that I may rely on Your faithfulness;

give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name.

Psalm 86:11

 

What an amazing prayer! Lord, give me an undivided heart!

I have allowed so many things to have a piece of my heart.

This heart that should be ALL Yours!

So I pray, give me an UNDIVIDED heart Lord!

God wants Your heart. Not a piece but all of your heart.

Fight those things that have contended for it….He is all you

need.

 

Rolain

 

 

 

Can we look to God when we sin?

I was reading a very well known passage of Scripture this morning during devotional. I read it and spoke to God and left for work. But during the day I had a revelation about that chapter. At Bible School I was taught to read Scripture in context and this chapter is crazy. The chapter I read was Psalm 78. It talks about the mercy of God, the patience of God, and the love of God.

Can we look to God when we sin? I believe this scripture answers the question very well. Let us go through a list of things Israel did while they were in the desert:

 

–          The children of Ephraim were armed and carrying bows, yet they turned back in the day of battle. They kept not the covenant of God and refused to walk according to His law and forgot His works and His wonders that He had shown them. (Ps. 78:9-11)

–          And they tempted God in their hearts by asking for food according to their [selfish] desire and appetite. They spoke against God; they said, Can God furnish [the food for] a table in the wilderness? (Ps. 78;18,19)      

 

I will stop there for a bit and highlight something. In Psalm 78:22, 23 it says: “Because in God they believed not [they relied not on Him, they adhered not to Him], and they trusted not in His salvation (His power to save). Yet He commanded the clouds above and opened the doors of heaven;                                                                                                         

 

God still had mercy on them. He never withdrew His hand from them despite all the crazy things they were doing. God will forgive you and has forgiven you if you will let Him in. We don’t fully understand God’s mercy. Don’t let the devil lie to you into thinking that God can’t get past your sin no matter how “bad” you may think it is. God can get past your sin and He has….

Let us continue and take a look at more of Israel’s “sins”.

 

–          The wrath of God came down upon them and slew the strongest and sturdiest of them and smote down Israel’s chosen youth. In spite of all this, they sinned still more, for they believed not in (relied not on and adhered not to Him for) His wondrous works. (Ps. 78:31,32)

–          Nevertheless they flattered Him with their tongues. For their hearts were not right or sincere with Him, neither were they faithful and steadfast to His covenant. (Ps. 78:36,37)

–          And time and again they turned back and tempted God, provoking and incensing the Holy One of Israel. They remembered not [seriously the miracles of the working of] His hand, nor the day when He delivered them from the enemy. (Ps. 78:41).

–          Yet they tempted and provoked and rebelled against the Most High God and kept not His testimonies. But they turned back and dealt unfaithfully and treacherously like their fathers; they were twisted like a warped and deceitful bow [that will not respond to the archer’s aim]. For they provoked Him to [righteous] anger with their high places [for idol worship] and moved Him to jealousy with their graven images. When God heard this, He was full of [holy] wrath; and utterly rejected Israel, greatly abhorring and loathing [her ways], so that He forsook the tabernacle at Shiloh, the tent in which He dwelt among men [and never returned to it again], (Ps. 78:56-60)

 

This is where a lot of people usually stop. Israel did crazy things, they went overboard. But if we are to fully understand the chapter we must read it in context. Up to this point we see them worshiping idols, tempting God, provoking Him and rebelling against Him. Can you imagine, incensing God??? But let us read the last part of Psalm 78 because this is what counts! It says,

 

Then the Lord awakened as from sleep, as a strong man whose consciousness of power is heightened by wine. And He smote His adversaries in the back [as they fled]; He put them to lasting shame and reproach. (Ps. 78:65, 66)

 

I believe this scripture was speaking of the enemies of Israel.  He still fought on Israel’s behalf even after all they did. After rejecting God, turning their backs on Him and so on God still had their backs!

I don’t know what sin you in but please know that God is a gracious God. He wants you to turn back to Him. Don’t think your sin is too much for God because it isn’t.

But at the same, don’t take advantage of God’s grace. The first few generations of Israel died. They took God’s forgiveness for granted. Some were killed and punished because of their rebellion. God is a holy God and He will not entertain a blatant disregard of His ways. In Numbers 16 we see how holy God is.

Please don’t take God’s grace and mercy for granted. If you want to change and are sincere forgiveness and grace are available no matter what you have done! Your sin can be forgiven. He knows that we were born into sin. He doesn’t expect us to be perfect. You just have to do your part, turn to Him!!!

 

Can we look to God even when we sin? The answer is Yes!

 

Rolain