Believing God

by Linda Mershon

February 2, 2012

“And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?” (Numbers 14:11)

Have you ever had a problem believing God? The children of Israel sure did! God did miracle after miracle and yet they murmured and complained and wouldn’t believe his word. Therefore the passage quoted above - God says “How long will this people provoke me? And how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?”

Can you hear God’s heart in this passage? HOW LONG BEFORE THEY BELIEVE ME? I think it hurts God’s heart when we don’t believe him. And it says in Hebrews 11:6 that without faith it is impossible to please God. How would you feel if you had a child that you loved dearly and took care of faithfully and he constantly was concerned that you would feed him or clothe him or get him to school on time, etc. What if he constantly wondered how he would eat that day or how he could get some money so he could buy some food to eat in case you didn’t provide? What if he murmured and complained because he thought you weren’t doing what he thought was best for him? Wouldn’t it hurt you? Wouldn’t you wonder why this child couldn’t see how much you loved him and wanted the best for him, and that you had always provided for him? He only had to look at the past and see that he had never lacked a meal to understand that you would provide this for him. But yet he doubted. That would be distressing indeed!

But how many times have you done the same thing? How many times has the Lord met your needs and taken care of you and yet, when trouble came, you didn’t believe he could solve your problem, but instead went the way of the world and looked for worldly solutions. God says to you, “How long before you will believe me?”

I know whereof I speak. We live by faith, which means we have no certain income. The support that we have is never the same. Some months are lean and some are better. And our support never covers all our needs. So, when we are slow with meetings and have no extra income to supplement our support, things can get lean. And, have you noticed, that when your income gets lean, then all these extra bills come in, making the matter worse. Your car breaks down, you have unforeseen medical bills, etc. At times like this, we are tempted to worry and fret and God says “How Long?” In our circumstance, we live by faith, but we have never been late on a bill, have always met our obligations and God has always been faithful. Yet, how often we are tempted to forget all these things and worry or complain when the situation gets tough. We are just like the children of Israel. God showed them many miracles and yet, when they had no water, they complained. When things got difficult, they complained.

Recently my husband quoted H.A. Ironside in an article. He said “For the servant of the Lord to be finding fault because of the smallness of his support, is to make manifest at once that his dependence is upon man rather than on God;” This hit home with me. Our support comes from God and he knows exactly what we need and when we need it. We have no right to complain because churches and people aren’t faithful in their support or are careless about sending it.

I especially have a struggle with financial concerns as I learned at my mother’s knee how to worry about the finances. My Dad was a drunkard and drank up our money, so she was always concerned about it. I learned the lesson well from her, and it has always been a struggle for me. I love Psalm 20:7 “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.” Often I will sing this verse to myself. It says we will remember His Name. Names like Jehovah-jireh (Genesis 22:14): that is, The Lord will see, or, provide.

We have a great God who loves us greatly and is always there to take care of us. Let us remember his names and his promises so God won’t have to say to us “How long?”