Shut Your Mouth

Do you ever doubt God?  Question Him?  Wonder how in the world He will come through?  Grumble, complain, whine because He doesn't seem to be working fast enough or taking care of your every need at a moment's notice?

Yeah, me neither...

Oh wait...

I was really convicted today as I listened to Numbers 10-14 this morning while I walked on the treadmill.  The Israelites have been freed from Egypt and 400 years of slavery, and then here they are mumbling and grumbling about wanting to go back -- because of the fish and melons and cucumbers they could eat there.  They're tired of manna day after day after day after day.  They want some meat, and so they whine to Moses about it.  Moses flat out tells God that he doesn't want to deal with the Israelites anymore, to go ahead and kill him.

God assures Moses that He can handle the Israelites' request and promises to provide meat for them.  Moses questions His ability to have enough meat for over 600,000 people for a consistent period of time.  God's response really got to me, "HAS MY ARM LOST ITS POWER?!"

Yeah, think I will just go ahead and shut my mouth...

You would think that the Israelites had seen enough of God's miraculous works to know that He can more than take care of them, but just chapters later we see them doubt His ability to give them the Promised Land.  Only Joshua and Caleb stand up to say God will bless them and guide them into the land flowing with milk and honey.  Everyone else is focused on the giants and trembling in their boots, too scared to believe God will help them conquer the inhabitants.

God doesn't say it again, but I can't help but think He wanted to shout, "HAS MY ARM LOST ITS POWER?!"

Instead, He promises that everyone who doubted Him will die in the wilderness.  Only Joshua and Caleb will get to enter the Promised Land.

Bummer for everyone else.

Bummer for me when I don't trust God, when I doubt and question and whine and grumble and complain.

Maybe I should just shut my mouth and remember all God has done, all that He can still do today.  Maybe I should just trust Him and believe He can do what He has promised.  Maybe, just maybe...