During this tough season you are going through I want to bring something to your a en on.
In troubling mes, we can o en be tempted to believe that God isn’t present when in fact He is. We
can be tempted to believe the feelings we feel or the situa on itself rather than believing the Word
of God and the promises made in it.
Let’s take the Israelites wandering in the wilderness for example. (Numbers 11) During the me they
wandered they gave into the tempta on of believing what they felt and saw to be the reality of the
situa on. But I will only touch on two incidents. The first one namely being when they were at
Taberah. The people complained against the Lord about their misfortunes and then later on a group
of Israelites who had “strong craving” (as the ESV says) complained about the food they were being
given by God and in turn then tempted others in the congrega on to do the same and this
displeased God. The judgement of God upon their sin might have seemed harsh but let me clarify
something, God doesn’t have an issue with us talking to Him about how we feel or le ng Him know
about our concerns, we frequently see that within the Psalms, Lamenta ons and even when Jesus
was talking to the Father in the garden of Gethsemane but in the case of the Israelites they were
being disingenuous and rather than giving thanks to God and being thankful for the great things He
had done for them and humbly making their requests known to God, they instead chose to complain
against Him and on top of that even went as far as making claims that they had been brought out of
the Egypt so that they would die in the wilderness. Not to men on the fact that they had seen great
signs and wonders done before their eyes and God had showed them that He could provide all that
they needed as well as the very thing they craved which was meat and He did show He could provide
it (in Exodus 16) when He displayed His concern for their hunger and fed them. But because of their
response to God’s goodness they heaped the judgement of God on their heads. We ourselves can act
this way, we can be tempted to make God into a villain when reality He is not and we do that
because we tend to be so near sighted and instead of believing God’s promises to us, and being
thankful for what He has done, wai ng on Him and amidst the struggle and amidst the pain to
sincerely enquiring about what it is He is teaching us or to understand the bigger picture, to see
things as He sees them and to trust in Him. Let us avoid being like Israel and instead be content in all
things, every giving thanks. (1Thessalonians 5:16)
In the seasons of plenty and in the seasons where it seems you have li le, put your hope in God and
do not let your beliefs and circumstances override what the Word of God says. God has promised to
give you all you need (Luke 12:22-34), and thus far He has done so and there are many other
accounts of Him doing so. So trust in Him. “And my God will supply every need of yours
according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:9 ESV
The other incident I’d like to point to but very briefly is the first me when Israel had been called by
God to go into the land they had been promised and to conquer it. They refused to go into the land
because they were afraid, what’s important to note is that God had just promised to help them in
ba le not long ago (Numbers 10:9). Yet in the face of opposi on they did not trust God’s word
because they were so focused on the circumstances and their in ability. They did not believe God
despite them seeing Him deliver them from the hands of the Egyp ans, a na on far greater than
they and God delivered them by great and might works which they saw with their own eyes. (Read
Moses’ recollec on of the events in Deuteronomy 1:19-32.)
I lament over the fact that there have been mul ple mes where I have sadly acted contrary to how
God has said we should, and I can tell you for a fact that all it leads to is pain, confusion, frustra on
and error.
DON’T BITE THE HAND THAT FEEDS YOU. Even though it might seem like God doesn’t care,
remember that He does and He is doing what is best for you in the current season. Appreciate what
the Lord is giving you at this moment (Numbers 11) because everything you have comes from Him,
that’s why the word says that man does not live by bread alone but by every word of God. Man is
completely dependent on God whether we want to admit it or not (Acts 17:24-30).
Maybe in this season God is tes ng you/preparing you for the blessing to come because if you are
not refined now then that bless could end up being curse in the sense that it could tear you apart
and corrupt you or you might just lose it all because you don’t know how to handle it.
Look at the life of Joseph, maybe God is preparing you to glorify Him and to save/help many. So, take
heart. God has promised to never leave nor forsake you, and if you call upon His name, He will
deliver you.
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that
many people[a] should be kept alive, as they are today.” Genesis 50:20 ESV
In this season, rather than focusing on what isn’t going right I encourage you to put your
hope in God and remember all that He has done for you and for others up until this point
because if He could do those things back then, He can surely do them again. Believe the
promises of God, He is not a man that He should lie.
Numbers 23:19 “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change
his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” ESV
You have been dependent on Him from day one and He has sustained you, you can trust
Him.