Aug 2 - Numbers 20:1-29; Proverbs 18:22; Mark 11:12-14
How many times lately has the subject of unbelief come up?! God has been speaking to me for a few years now about trusting obedience, and He keeps pointing out that His word for 'distrust' is "unbelief".
In this passage, He rebukes Moses and Aaron for their disobedience in striking the rock--which provided water for the Israelites--by saying, "..Because ye believed me not...". In verse 24, "because ye rebelled against my word..." makes the point even more pointed.
Moses allowed the grumblings of the people to provoke him to anger, and then he acted on it instead of trusting God's justice to sort it out. Trying to make an impression on the murmurers, he took God's judgment into his own hands.
How often do I fail to trust God to administer His will, in His time, and in His way? My own fears and pride demonstrate the unbelief in my heart. Am I willing to trust God's will and work in the lives of those around me? Or will I insist on doing things in the way which seems to me to be the most impressive... putting my unbelief on display for all to see, and inviting the judgment of One who desires most to be my loving Heavenly Father?
How many times lately has the subject of unbelief come up?! God has been speaking to me for a few years now about trusting obedience, and He keeps pointing out that His word for 'distrust' is "unbelief".
In this passage, He rebukes Moses and Aaron for their disobedience in striking the rock--which provided water for the Israelites--by saying, "..Because ye believed me not...". In verse 24, "because ye rebelled against my word..." makes the point even more pointed.
Moses allowed the grumblings of the people to provoke him to anger, and then he acted on it instead of trusting God's justice to sort it out. Trying to make an impression on the murmurers, he took God's judgment into his own hands.
How often do I fail to trust God to administer His will, in His time, and in His way? My own fears and pride demonstrate the unbelief in my heart. Am I willing to trust God's will and work in the lives of those around me? Or will I insist on doing things in the way which seems to me to be the most impressive... putting my unbelief on display for all to see, and inviting the judgment of One who desires most to be my loving Heavenly Father?
