Is the Lord's Arm Too Short?

 Have you ever found yourself feeling like you were just in way over your head? Recently I cut down a 40 foot tree that was 25 feet from my house. That could have gone wrong very quickly. And there have been MANY times when I realized things were just too big for me to handle by myself.

I'm always amazed when people will say something like, "Well, all we can do now is pray." The unintentional implication becomes, "We've exhausted all the things that can actually help... and now all that's left is... prayer." As though reaching out to the Creator of the universe is somehow Plan Z rather than Plan A.

Why is it that sometimes we almost see God as a last resort? Again, I don't think it's intentional - but every now and then, I think we just get busy with life and almost forget that God is there for us. That's a sad commentary if that's true – but if we don't allow God into every part of our lives, we can compartmentalize Him; we can unintentionally leave Him here after Sunday morning.

We go about our lives and we take care of the things that life throws at us every day. We can get so good at 'managing life' that we slowly convince ourselves we're the ones running it. And then, when things go badly, or not as we planned, are we tempted to blame God?

If we find ourselves in that situation, whether we realize it or not – we're operating under the false assumption that we handled those situations that turned out well, all by ourselves - and that those troubles that ended badly, they were just too big for God to handle... That's a pretty strong indictment, but do we occasionally live as if there are some problems that are too big for God?

And we may do that even though we know God is...

I. Greater than our problems

Well, I suppose the good news is, we're not the first people to struggle with that. Even one of the greatest leaders in the Bible found himself wondering whether God's promise was actually enough.

Back in the Old Testament, after God rescued Israel from Egypt, they'd already witnessed miracle after miracle. They'd crossed the Red Sea on dry ground, they watched water come from a rock on command, they gathered manna every morning. Yet when they complained and wanted meat, even Moses wondered whether God could really provide enough for hundreds of thousands of people.

Let's look at this passage from Numbers 11:21-23 (NIV)...

But Moses said, "Here I am among six hundred thousand men on foot, and you say, 'I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!' (22) Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?" (23) The LORD answered Moses, "Is the Lord's arm too short? You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you."

Then in the following verses we see that God could undeniably do it and He provided hundreds of thousands of quail! The question wasn't really whether God could provide enough meat. The problem was that Moses wasn't looking at God anymore. He was looking at the numbers rather than God's power. Why did the people doubt God's power? Why do we, at times?

Theologian A.W. Tozer wrote, "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us."

That's important, because if the God we imagine is too small, our faith will always be too small. When we look at some problem that comes our way, we need to remember that we can't always solve things on our own – however...

A. God's power is unlimited

Now I'm not suggesting that God is like some all powerful genie that we can use for our own purposes, but His power is supernatural - something that goes beyond what the 'laws of nature' tell us is possible. That's exactly the sort of thing we celebrate at Easter - Jesus coming back from the grave! That's supernatural!

When the Israelites were complaining to God, it wasn't that God had messed up and made a mistake. They were upset because they thought they had a better plan than God and that He should listen to them and then everything would be alright.

And from our vantage point, it's easy for us to point at them and see their shortfalls; their lack of faith. Seeing our own shortfalls may be a little harder. Paul wrote this to the Christians in Ephesus…

Ephesians 1:18-21 (NIV)

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, (19) and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, (20) which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, (21) far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

Is the Lord's arm too short? If God can raise Jesus from the dead, He's already proven there is no problem beyond His power! Many times we simply need to open our eyes and look up. God's power is unlimited, but there are times when...

B. Our faith is limited

We get so caught up in living our lives in this world that we forget to exercise our faith in preparation for the next. The problem wasn't in God's power - it was in Moses' focus. The Israelites had already seen the parting of the Red Sea, the manna, the water spring from the rock - yet they still doubted.

In our lives, some of us have weathered some huge storms – but don't forget Who gave you the strength to do it in the first place. The same God who has power even over death wants to give us power. Paul again reminds us of our relationship to God's unlimited power in Ephesians 3:16-19 (NIV)...

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, (17) so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, (18) may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, (19) and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Paul understood from where our power comes. God is our source of strength and there is nothing too big for Him to handle! So, since I have access to God's power and He can handle anything – why do I panic so quickly? The problem isn't with God – but in me.

- What miracles has God already done in your life that you've possibly forgotten because you're focused on today's problem? God is bigger than any of our problems. But knowing God is powerful isn't the same thing as trusting Him. The real test of faith isn't what we say we believe on Sunday - it's where we instinctively turn on Monday. 'Faith is easy to profess when life is predictable. Faith is revealed when life is not.'

So what do our lives reveal about?...

II. What we really believe

When God doesn't answer our prayers as quickly as we'd like - or when God answers very differently from what we want - do we ever think something like, "How could an all-powerful, all-knowing God possibly know a better way to solve this problem than I do?" - Sounds ridiculous saying it out loud...

And, of course – we would never say that anyone or anything could be wiser than God. However, when we casually live our lives putting our trust in anyone or anything other than Jesus – we are, for all intents and purposes, acting as if they are better than God. One temptation we tend to struggle with is that...

A. We often trust lesser things

Politics dominate the news and everyone seems to have pretty strong opinions. When things in this world get difficult, complicated or fear inducing, where do we place our trust? Is it in government? Keep your fingers in the following passage from Isaiah 40:15-17 (NIV)...

Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust. (16) Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires, nor its animals enough for burnt offerings. (17) Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing.

We spend hours worrying about elections, economies, and world events. God calls nations 'a drop in a bucket'. Nations and governments come and go – God's power is forever! Governments may pass laws, but only God ultimately determines what is right and wrong. God's ways lead to blessing and salvation!

Do we live like our faith is in God, or do we live like we have more faith in idols? - Now we may not have crafted images that sit in our house and we pray to them – but we certainly have things that have become idols. For some people it's money. For others, its success, comfort, security, approval, or even our own opinions. None of those things are necessarily evil. But the moment they begin competing with God for our trust, they've become idols.

How much of our lives are devoted to the pursuit of money as compared to our pursuit of God? What about the things that money buys? Do those things consume more of our attention than we give to God?

Let's continue in the passage from Isaiah...

Isaiah 40:18-20 (NIV)

To whom, then, will you compare God? What image will you compare him to? (19) As for an idol, a craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it. (20) A man too poor to present such an offering selects wood that will not rot. He looks for a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple.

If you lost everything you had in this life - your money, your job, your family, your health, everything - but still had Jesus – would He be enough for you..? Think about the opposite – let's say you amassed the greatest amount of wealth in the world but didn't know God – where would you end up?

When times get rough, do we trust people more than we trust God? Do we seek God's counsel, but then follow someone else's opinion because it aligns more with what we want or already believe? Our culture increasingly asks us to define right and wrong by personal preference, public opinion, or whatever is most accepted at the moment. Scripture asks a different question - what does God say?

Continuing on in Isaiah...

Isaiah 40:21-24 (NIV)

Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded? (22) He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in.

(23) He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. (24) No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.

When you're afraid or struggling, where does your mind run first? - Government, money, or things? Those things aren't evil. They just make terrible gods. Whose counsel are you going to trust over the all powerful, eternal God? Do you really think that choosing to follow any person's opinion over God's will help your troubles?

B. Faith chooses God's way

And that's what makes all the difference. After we battle our impulse to try to solve things on our own - or seek answers in other things apart from God - that's when we need to lean into our faith in God - knowing that He cares for us more than we can know, and that God will always do what's right!

Charles Spurgeon wrote, "God is too good to be unkind, and He is too wise to be mistaken. When we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart."

We see this in Isaiah 40:28-31 (NIV)...

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. (29) He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

(30) Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; (31) but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

A story was told of a man who endured the horrors of a Soviet prison camp. He was beaten and tortured and even witnessed some of his fellow prisoners die from malnourishment. One day, as he was sitting on a bench – he was praying with his hands folded and his eyes closed. As a fellow prisoner walked by, he scoffed, "Your prayers won't help you get out of here any faster." Opening his eyes, he answered, "I don't pray to get out of prison, but to do the will of God."

His circumstances hadn't changed, but his purpose had. That's what faith does. That's the kind of faith I need!

So What?

When I cut down that forty foot tree that was twenty five feet from my house, I knew I was dealing with something bigger than I was. I asked a friend who had more experience than me to eyeball the situation and give me his opinion before I started cutting. But life presents us with many problems much bigger than falling trees. The difference is - we often try to handle those alone.

We all believe God can handle any problem or circumstance that will arise. The question is, 'Do we actually live like we believe that He can?' Faith isn't believing God will do exactly what I want. Faith is trusting that whatever God does will be right. We don't discover the size of our faith when life is easy. The difficult truth is - we find it when life stops making sense.

When the diagnosis comes... When the job disappears... When the marriage struggles... When the children wander... When you lose the love of your life... When the future seems entirely uncertain... - Is the Lord's arm too short? Or - is my faith too small?

The same God who raised Jesus from the grave has not changed. He may not always answer the way we expect or want. He may not always remove the hardship or suffering. But He will never stop being enough.

So when life becomes overwhelming - don't make prayer your last resort. Run to God first! Trust Him! His arm is not too short!