Dare 2 Share - "So I tell you, don't worry about everyday life--whether you have enough food, drink, and clothes. Doesn't life consist of more than food and clothing? Look at the birds. They don't need to plant or harvest or put food in barns because your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than they are. Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not. "And why worry about your clothes? Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won't he more surely care for you? You have so little faith! "So don't worry about having enough food or drink or clothing. Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things? Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. "So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today. (Matthew 6:25-34)
Perhaps this year you would really like to step out in faith and really ‘go for it’ with God. You would love to see Him do amazing things in and through you, but you’re just not sure that He’s aware of all that you are going to need. Or maybe as you look into the unforeseeable future of this year, you perceive potential depression, loneliness, and endless waiting for the things you would really like to have in your life.
Either way, consider this:
Many many years ago, God asked His people to step out in faith to follow Him. This calling wasn’t easy, but it was the will of Jehovah. Moses gathered up the Israelites and marched them out in the desert in obedience to the Lord; but what was he going to do with them? They had to be fed, and feeding 2 or 3 million people requires more than a few happy meals. According to the Quartermaster General in the Army, it is reported that Moses would have to have had 1500 tons of food each day (which is 3,000,000 lbs!). To bring that much food each day would require two freight trains: each a mile long- which is a lot of donkeys back in that day.
Also keep in mind that they were out in the desert, and sand doesn’t make very good cooking material, so they would have to have firewood to use in cooking the food. This would take 4000 tons of wood and a few more freight trains, each a mile long, just for one day. And just think, they were in transit for forty years (146,000 days).
They would also need water. If they only had enough to drink and wash a few dishes, it would take 11,000,000 gallons each day, and a freight train with tank cars, 1800 miles long, just to bring water.
One more thing- each time they camped at the end of the day, a campground two-thirds the size of the state of Rhode Island was required, or a total of 750 square miles long...that’s a big campground!
Do you think Moses figured all this out before he left Egypt? I seriously doubt it. If he was thinking logically in any sense of the word, he would never had willingly taken the Israelites out in the desert. Yet stepping out in faith has very little to do with what meets the eye. Moses believed in God simply because God asked him to, and our Lord took care of all these amazing things for him.
Perhaps you are looking out at the landscape of your year, and it looks like a desert. Maybe you have no clue (from an earthly perspective) how God is going to come through for you. Believe me, if God can supply every physical and spiritual need for 2,000,000 desert wanderers over the span of 40 years; I’m pretty sure He can take care of you and me in 2002.
Questions:
1) Do you think God has any problem taking care of all your needs? Why or why not?
2) What is one thing you want to accomplish for the Risen Lord this year?
3) Am I willing to take this year one day and one step at a time?
