FRIDAY, JANUARY 27
NUMBERS 14:1-10
NUMBERS 11:23

"… my word shall
come to pass unto thee..."

DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE LORD THY GOD

The children of Israel listened to the ten spies but turned a deaf ear to Joshua and Caleb. They believed the evil report that magnified the enemy. They downplayed the words of God and diminished His power. They grumbled and complained. It was nothing less than rebellion against God. They forgot the power of God when He delivered them out of Egypt. As a result, those aged twenty years and above died in the wilderness (Num 14:29), forfeiting the benefit of entering the Promised Land.

The false report was so convincing that the people wanted to kill Joshua and Caleb. In unbelief, the truth became a lie and the lie a truth. They then began to plan to return to Egypt. It is difficult to see why God’s people would have thought that God, who had led and provided so miraculously thus far, would eventually fail in His original intention.

They underestimated the power of God who delivered them out of Egypt. The spies made a strategic addition by frequently mentioning the physical size of the indigenous people. Note that Moses did not ask about the people’s physical size.

How great is your God? Is He greater than the terminal illness of a cancer patient? Is He greater than the bankruptcy a businessman is facing? Is He greater than the retrenchment that threatens an employee? Is He greater than the problematic child of a concerned father? "And 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" (Num 11:23). The children’s chorus goes, "My God is so big, so great and so mighty, there’s nothing my God cannot do." This must be the song in the heart of every child of God.

THOUGHT: Is there anything greater than the Lord, my God?
PRAYER: "Help me, O LORD my God: O save me according to thy mercy: That they may know that this is thy hand; that thou, LORD, hast done it" (Ps 109:26-27).