When Overwhelmed

With God, all things are possible.  It may be often quoted, but this truth is seldom believed.  There are many people in scripture who certainly believed in God's existence, had a living relationship with Him, and yet had doubts.  Moses, one of the great fathers of faith, had moments of doubt like all of us.  Even those with genuine faith have a great need for their faith to be renewed and strengthened, growing upon the foundation of God's Word and His faithfulness.

After God miraculously delivered the children of Israel from bondage in Egypt, the people complained because they didn't have meat to eat.  They suffered from the common malady of a "selective memory."  While they toiled in Egypt under heavy burdens and an oppressive regime, they cried out for deliverance.  But when God delivered them, they only remembered the fresh vegetables and meats that were available to them after a brutal day's work.  Their ungrateful hearts and covetousness angered both God and Moses.  After hearing the complaints of the people, Moses brought his complaint before God.  He said to God in essence, "If this is how it's going to be, kill me now!"  In His grace, God promised to provide His people with meat.  He would not only give them meat for a meal or a day, but meat with such abundance that they would become sick of it - every meal, every day for a month!

Moses was gobsmacked.  In the middle of a desert, where would this bountiful supply of meat come from?  Numbers 11:21-23 reads, "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.' ²² 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?" ²³ 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."  At that time there were over a million people in total.  Because Moses focused on the great magnitude of the need, doubt crept into his heart.  He could not imagine such a source of food readily available in the desert.  But God corrected the fault of Moses.  Instead of focusing on the greatness of the need or the scarcity of meat, Moses was to look to God as His source.  God said, "Have I suddenly become weak and pathetic?  Wait and see if I can and will do what I say."

God was true to His word.  He caused a wind to blow quail into the camp of the Israelites a meter deep, and the ridiculously plentiful quail stretched for a day's journey in every direction outside the camp.  We too can fall into the trap of being overwhelmed by the needs all around us and wonder if God is not overwhelmed too!  We believe in God and His Word, but we doubt that He is willing or able to do anything about our needs.  When our big problems make God appear small, we have lost proper perspective.  David wrote in Psalm 61:1-2, "Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. ² From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I."  Notice that David did not say, "If my heart is overwhelmed" but "when."  It is not a case of if you are overwhelmed, but it is only a matter of when.  When we are overwhelmed, let us turn to God in faith.  Let us not be ashamed to admit our unbelief to Him.  He is faithful and with our own eyes we will see His provision and salvation.