DATE WRITTEN: Saturday, 2021-07-03
WRITTEN AT: Gallup, NM

SCRIPTURE FROM: Numbers 27:12-14; Luke 1:19-20
TRANSLATION: Living Bible (TLB)

BIBLE TEXT: Numbers 27: ¹² One day the Lord said to Moses, “Go up into Mount Abarim and look across the river to the land I have given to the people of Israel. ¹³ After you have seen it, you shall die as Aaron your brother did, ¹⁴ for you rebelled against my instructions in the wilderness of Zin. When the people of Israel rebelled, you did not glorify me before them by following my instructions to order water to come out of the rock.”
Luke 1: ¹⁹ Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to you with this good news! ²⁰ And now, because you haven’t believed me, you are to be stricken silent, unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly come true at the proper time.”

APPLICATION: Often when we realize that we may have doubted God in a situation, it is in hind sight as we look back over a situation. We have lots of excuses why we did what we did and acted like we did, but when we have truly learned to trust in the power of the Almighty God, we must be very careful not to let our earthly/human instincts interfere in His mighty work, or in the lessons He is teaching us. Consider Moses for a moment: he saw many awesome miracles by God as He got Moses and his people out of Egypt. Moses also witnessed miraculous events from Almighty God while directing him to lead hundreds of thousands of his countrymen through The Wilderness. Mighty works that could only be attributed to God. Yet, in this one instance Moses allowed his personal earthly character to kick in, and his anger took over good common sense to follow God’s commands precisely. Think about it, since God had proven over and over again that He knew what He was doing, and had the power to do what He said He would do, surely there was no godly reason for Moses to doubt and/or disobey. God refused to let this act of disobedience slide, because, I believe, He wanted to remind Moses and His people that His commands and actions didn’t change with the wind, nor did His acts need any animation from mankind to make it look real. Although Moses was reaching a ripe old age, I’m sure he would have loved walking into the land promised by God since the beginning of their 40-year journey. But in God’s wisdom, the cost He dished out to Moses was refusal to allow him entrance into the Promised Land. In our New Testament story, Zacharias and his wife had prayed for years that they might have a child of their own. It appears like because God didn’t meet the timing expected by Zacharias, he doubted the angel when told about a son (John the Baptist) he and his wife would have in their old age. This led to Zacharias not being able to speak during the whole gestation period. The cost of doubt in his awesome God was frustrating and gave Zacharias lots of time to think about the miraculous work of our awesome God. So what about us in today’s environment, do we doubt in what God said He would do, or in what He said that He could do for us? Have you seen any repercussions yet for your doubt? I hope that you will be reminded that our God is still in charge, and He still has every right to control this world and everything that will happen to it. Remember, He is our Creator, and He has control over everything He created, including you and I. He wants us to believe in Him and trust Him to do what He has promised. Trust in Him with all your heart, soul and mind, dear friend, and we will never regret all that He has in store for us.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: We serve a miracle working God who will keep His promises to us, if we do our part and trust in Him and give Him control. Jesus never fails!

PRAYER: Lord, I believe that if You said it, I can believe it will happen. Please help me to always believe in You, no matter how impossible it may sound to me. Our Scriptures today have reminded me that there are consequences for doubting Your Word and Your commands, so I want to believe with all my heart that You will do as You say. Please touch the hearts of all my readers and listeners and help them to draw closer to You. Please give them the faith to believe on the God who loves them, and can do all things. Allow the unsaved to be touched by our faith and obedience, so that they too will want a relationship with You. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog might indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!