Is the Lord’s arm too short?

Helen Thorne | Oct. 13, 2014

Do you ever doubt the strength of the Lord?

Probably not when you’re in a Bible study and you’re asked a theological question but on those days in between church and home group, do you doubt he can act?

Can God really sort out the wars? The injustice? The hunger? The persecution in the world? Can he really bring the promised peace?

Is he really sovereign over the chaos – the floods, the accidents, the abuse? Will there be true perfection one day?

Can he heal the brokenness in your life? Enable you to conquer that persistent sin? Can he truly bring to completion the work he has begun in each of us?

Will evangelism ever be complete? Will his gospel ever reach the farthest corners of the world? Will his Kingdom ever fully come …?

Moses had his doubts about God’s power. When God said that he would provide meat for the traveling (and grumbling) Israelites, Moses’ response was verging on the mocking. “Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?” It just didn’t seem credible, in the middle of a desert with few flocks to hand, that God could provide them with a regular and abundant supply of meat. They hadn’t had meat since leaving Egypt and now here’s God promising to give them so much they’ll actually grow sick of the stuff! It sounds like crazy talk … Ridiculous!

But the Lord’s response reminded Moses (and reminds us) of an important fact – with God there are no limits to his power:

“Is the Lord’s arm too short?” says the King of creation. (Numbers 11:23).

God didn’t wait for a reply. Moses knew the answer. Deep inside we do too. The thought of God being unable to do what he promises is far less credible than any big promise he makes. He is the one who makes all things, sustains all things, has a plan for all things and will bring all things to their final consummation. There’s no-one, nothing more able than the Lord.

There’s no doubt about it – he’s able to do fulfill his own plans. And that’s a fact worth remembering…

So, wherever your pressure point this week, whenever that niggling doubt about the Lord’s sovereignty or power creeps in, why not ask yourself the same question …