I am pretty average height, which is not a bad thing. It was troubling as a teenager when I believed that a couple more inches might have helped me land a spot on the basketball team. More height, longer arms…who knows?
I thought about my average length arms (32 inches, in case you are interested) as my daily Bible reading took me to Numbers 11 recently. The children of Israel were complaining about a lack of variety in their diet. They were growing tired of the manna God provided daily; they demanded meat. Moses took their complaint to the Lord, who agreed to this menu change. Moses responded to this as though he would be the one expected to deliver on this new menu item: “Here I am among six hundred thousand men on foot, and you say, ‘I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!’ Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?” (Numbers 11:21,22)
Moses is scratching his head as to how he is going to fulfill this promise. He knew his human resources were limited. I don’t know if God was amused or annoyed, but the divine response is classic: “Is the Lord’s arm too short?” (11:23)
I’m too much like Moses, putting limits on what God can or cannot do. When faced with a challenge I immediately think about what I lack in the way of resources to overcome the obstacle. In my mind, God is reduced to my size–average height, limited ability, already stretched in too many directions. I think and act as though I believe God’s arms are too short.
Moses–and Israel–needed another reminder of God’s power, which soon came in the form of a “quail storm.” Before the “storm” subsided, the people were walking around in three feet of quail for as far as they could walk in any direction (11:31).
I don’t know what you are up against today, but I would encourage you to think about the question: “Is the Lord’s arm too short?” Don’t get trapped into seeing your options from only your limited perspective. God’s arms are plenty long enough to take on whatever you are facing.
Ministers’ Blog
Arms Too Short
Arms Too Short
I am pretty average height, which is not a bad thing. It was troubling as a teenager when I believed that a couple more inches might have helped me land a spot on the basketball team. More height, longer arms…who knows?
I thought about my average length arms (32 inches, in case you are interested) as my daily Bible reading took me to Numbers 11 recently. The children of Israel were complaining about a lack of variety in their diet. They were growing tired of the manna God provided daily; they demanded meat. Moses took their complaint to the Lord, who agreed to this menu change. Moses responded to this as though he would be the one expected to deliver on this new menu item: “Here I am among six hundred thousand men on foot, and you say, ‘I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!’ Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?” (Numbers 11:21,22)
Moses is scratching his head as to how he is going to fulfill this promise. He knew his human resources were limited. I don’t know if God was amused or annoyed, but the divine response is classic: “Is the Lord’s arm too short?” (11:23)
I’m too much like Moses, putting limits on what God can or cannot do. When faced with a challenge I immediately think about what I lack in the way of resources to overcome the obstacle. In my mind, God is reduced to my size–average height, limited ability, already stretched in too many directions. I think and act as though I believe God’s arms are too short.
Moses–and Israel–needed another reminder of God’s power, which soon came in the form of a “quail storm.” Before the “storm” subsided, the people were walking around in three feet of quail for as far as they could walk in any direction (11:31).
I don’t know what you are up against today, but I would encourage you to think about the question: “Is the Lord’s arm too short?” Don’t get trapped into seeing your options from only your limited perspective. God’s arms are plenty long enough to take on whatever you are facing.
My arms are average length…God’s are not!