Opportunity or Failure

Opportunity or Failure
Numbers 11-15
“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Is the Lord’s power limited? Now you shall see whether My word will come true for you or not.” (11:23
When confronted with challenges and hardship, do we see it as an opportunity for God to demonstrate His power and grace or a failure of God to care for us? After spending 11 months at Mount Sinai, hearing God's voice, seeing God's glory and power on full display, and receiving the promise of God’s special care, they continued their journey to the promised land.  However, after experiencing the highs, we are often confronted with the valleys of life.  

As soon as the people started again on their journey, they quickly forgot God’s promises.  When life reverted to the mundane, they began to complain against Moses and God.  The manna that had richly supplied them with food in the desert became distasteful as they became disillusioned with the monotony of the diet.  In the daily struggles of life, it is easy to allow discouragement to cloud our perspective of God.  Even Moses became discouraged and overwhelmed and began to complain.  Faced with an epidemic of discouragement, even Miriam and Aaron turned against Moses and began to question and undermine his leadership. There is nothing more contagious than negativity and discouragement.  It can soon distort our view of God and trust in His protective care.

The final straw that broke the camel’s back was when the spies entered the land. Instead of seeing the bounty and productivity of the land God had promised them, they only saw the size of the opposition and the impossibility of the task before them. Instead of keeping their focus on the God who promised victory, they became fixated on the power of the Canaanites' armies. Their negative report spread throughout the camp, leading to a full-fledged rebellion of the people and insurrection against Moses.  

As we read of the Israelites' discouragement, doubt, and rebellion, we marvel at how a people who saw and experienced the miraculous power of God could so quickly fall into the depths of doubt.  They had seen God destroy the most powerful army in the world at that time when He annihilated the armies of Egypt.  Despite the victory, they became fearful of a much smaller, though formidable army of the Canaanites.  God had provided them with water and food for over a year in the desert, but they doubted God when He promised to bless them with a land-flowing abundance. They had heard God speak face to face with Moses and demonstrate His anointing of Moses as their leader when He revealed His glory on the face of Moses.  Yet they questioned Moses when they heard the spies' report that shattered their dreams of the promised land.

As we read of their murmurings, we marvel at how quickly they were engulfed by doubt.  However, if we examine ourselves closely, we discover that we are often no different.  We sing God’s praise when we experience His blessings and life is enjoyable.  But we begin to doubt and question life when facing challenges and problems.  It confronts us with the questions, “What do we see when life turns dark?  Do we see insurmountable problems or an opportunity for God to display his power through us?”  

When cancer strikes, when our financial security becomes insecure, when problems and circumstances seem overwhelming, these are the times God has not forgotten or been neglectful. Instead, these are the circumstances that God uses to display His power through us.  When we become fixated on the size of the problems, God becomes small.  However, when we focus on the unlimited power of God and the assurance of His Word, the adversity we face only becomes an opportunity for God to display His grace and power through us.  What do you see today in your life?  Do you see the problems of life, or do you see the God who controls your life?  Do you fear the present or trust the assurance of God’s promises for the future? When we become discouraged and overwhelmed with the challenges of life, the crisis is not our circumstances; the crisis is our focus.  When God is our focus, even the most insurmountable challenge pales in comparison to the infinite power of God.