Friday, February 12, 2016

Numbers: Walking By Faith And Waiting

KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date
: Friday, February 12, 2016
Chapters: Numbers 10-12
Message: Numbers: Walking By Faith And Waiting

Hello My Friend,

Perhaps the most frustrating thing to do as a Christian is wait for things to happen, especially when that wait gets up in the years. Many times we ponder things like, Is it really God's will?, Am I doing something wrong?, Am I hindering God? Why am I going through this? Id the devil doing this? Let me tell you, we all have questions like these, and while the wait does seem grievous God always has a reason for it, and if we keep trusting Him and walk by faith, the wait will be worth it. “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.” - James 1:3-7.

For let not that man think” While we cannot rush God, the biggest key to seeing Him work faster is faith, if we have no faith in Him we are wasting our time praying because He will not hear our prayers. Part of the waiting is so that we can increase our faith. Now, it had been over two years since the Israelites were set free out of Egypt and embarked on their journey to the promised land. A quite a bit of time they spent on Mt. Sinai, during that time God gave the commands and laws, had Moses and the people build the Tabernacle, and chose Aaron and the Levites to serve in the Tabernacle. The time had come for the camp to move forward and head to the promised land, first, God commanded Moses to make two silver trumpets. These trumpets would be used to sound danger or war, but also let them know it was time to pack it up and move forward.

And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout your generations. And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies. Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the LORD your God. And it came to pass on the twentieth day of the second month, in the second year, that the cloud was taken up from off the tabernacle of the testimony. And the children of Israel took their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran. And they first took their journey according to the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses.” - Numbers 10:8-13.

And they first took their journey according to the commandment” As Christians sometimes it can seem like we get stuck in neutral, you cannot go backward or forward, just stuck there waiting for God to open a door or do something. Guess what? God has you there for a reason, and no matter how much you try to rush Him or jump ship you are not going anywhere until God says so. I spent the morning crying to God for this very reason only for Him to tell me the very same thing, “When I tell you it is time to move, that is when you move, otherwise, just do what you are supposed to be doing and have faith in me. He also reminded me that nothing is too hard or impossible with Him. “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” - James 2:17-20.

We have to be careful when waiting on God that we do not start to lust over the things we are seeking, lust is a very bad thing, it is the one and only thing that makes us fall. Now, after two years of eating manna, some of the people were getting tired of it and wanted meat and vegetables to eat. They complained to Moses, reminiscing over the food that ate back in Egypt,

And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes. And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee. And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the LORD will give you flesh, and ye shall eat. Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the LORD which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt? Num 11:33 And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague.” - Numbers 11:4-6,18-20,33.

But now our soul is dried away:” Our soul is the innermost part of the amazing body God created, it feeds off our spirit and flesh, if our spirit is dried up our soul will be also, and that will cause us to lust for things to feed our flesh. Our soul dries up when we start forgetting the miraculous blessings that God has given us, lusting for the things we had when we were in bondage to the world. You know, part of having faith is being content with what we have right now. So what if we are living off ramen noodles serving God, at least we are not doing God knows what living off steak. While we must never settle for what we currently have, but must be content with what God gives us right now if we are to see Him bless us with more. “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” - Philippians 4:11-13.

At times, our lack of faith or discontent with the present circumstances can cause us to envy those who seem to be blessed with more. Did you ever wonder why God did not choose Moses to be the high priest? This was due to the fact that Moses was married to a foreign woman, remember when he was in hiding out in Midian. God did not discredit Moses or treat him badly for doing this, but it did mean he could not pass on any priestly duties on to his sins because as both the man and woman had to be a Levite. This did not go over well with Moses' sister and brother, in fact they began complaining about him. The bad thing about bad mouthing one of God's servants is that God hears and He confronted Miriam and Aaron.
And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it. (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.) And the LORD spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out. And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth. And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” - Numbers 12:1-8.

With him will I speak mouth to mouth,” God does not care where we came from, He cares that we are faithful to Him, and if we are faithful to Him He will give us something of much more value than necessities, His honor and respect. We all have desires that go beyond our basic needs and God is perfectly fine with that. In fact, Jesus says, “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” - Mark 11:24. God desires to fulfill the desires of His children, He knows what we want, and if we are patient, content, and faithful, He will give us much more than that. Remember, it's all about God getting us ready for the things we are asking, and His timing. “I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.” - Psalms 27:13,14.

Today's Prayer: God, it is truly amazing that You love us so much that you are willing to live inside of us to guide us and keep us from that dangers of the world. Although we get tired of waiting and try to rush You sometimes, You are faithful to give us the necessities as we wait for our desires. All You as of us is to trust, obey, and have faith, even when we are stuck in neutral waiting for You to tell us to move forward. Lord, lead me and guide me, open my eyes, ears, and heart to listen for You at all times, help me to know the path I am on, whether or it is the right one, and give me the strength I need to wait patiently for Your timing. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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