They spoke against God; they said, "Can God really spread a table in the wilderness?" (Psalm 78:19, NIV)
When we look at the Cross of Jesus, how could one ever say, "Can God really spread a table in the wilderness?" It should be written in our hearts and minds that He Who would be, "in Christ reconciling the world to Himself," He who has promised, "I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!],"* will always Be our Faithful God. We should never doubt this for at least one reason: Equal to what Jesus does for us, is Who Jesus Is to/in us, "....the Amen, the trusty and faithful and true Witness...."* God has demonstrated this to all who have put their trust in Him ever since the Garden.
The Jews in the wilderness, "spoke against God," when they doubted His provision. Verse 20 says, "Behold, He struck the rock, so that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed. Can He give bread also? Can He provide meat for His people?" How often we acknowledge Jesus' faithfulness to His People, to us, yet when times are "tough," when finances are not what they used to be, there is that ghastly tendency to say, "Can He also?" The key word is that dastardly, "also." It is a, "Yes, He has done it before, but I'm not sure He will do it again." There have been several "seasons" in our life when Sarah and I have not had a "regular" income. This has been true over the last 10 years; each month's income has been different from the last. There could be a tendency from time to time to ask the question of our text. But how would we dare? Our Lord Jesus Christ has been so very, "Faithful and True," in His provision. Jesus is Our, "God (Who has always) prepare[d], "a table in the wilderness". He is the same to you.
But there is more in our text for all of us. Some have a difficult time accepting the love of Jesus, the forgiveness of Jesus. Some bemoan their unworthiness, their sin, their lack of talent, etc., etc. This is all rooted in the unbelieving statement, "Can God prepare a table in the wilderness." Yet how could you and I ever ask such nonsense? Jesus affirmed us once for all in, "the Blood of His Cross." He forgave all sin. Jesus established us in the, "Household of Faith," the Heavenly Family, when He said, "This cup is the New Covenant in My blood, which is shed for you." There is just never an excuse for us to ever doubt Jesus, of Whom it was once said, "He has done all things well," never a reason to doubt that Jesus will continue to be in us the, "Faithful and True."
Last weekend we were a part of a seder. What a great reminder that on that night, "the same night in which He was betrayed [Jesus] took bread, and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you....'" It was a Passover meal they shared that night. It was a remembering, a remembering of the faithfulness of God to the Jews from that night of deliverance so long before right to that very moment, and we, my friend, can say right to this very moment. There should never, ever be any doubt that, "God...can prepare a table in the wilderness."
Father, in Jesus' Name, I so thank You that You, "struck the rock, so that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed." Amen.
* Amplified Bible
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Two weeks from tomorrow we leave for Berlin and Bosnia. We will so appreciate any prayers.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
