IS GOD’S ARM TOO SHORT?
April 21, 2022
Prayer: Lord, we boldly ask for the salvation of all our students and co-workers. Increase our faith to bring other BIG requests to you. Amen
Scripture: O Sovereign LORD! You have made the heavens and earth by your great power. Nothing is too hard for you! Jeremiah 32:17 NLT
In various older scripture translations (KJV, RSV, NIV) we read where God chides us through prophets with the absurd notion of God’s arm being “too short!” How silly a picture to pose that the one who created it all lacks the reach to accomplish something. Moses wrote in Numbers 11:23, when the Lord challenged him directly with that phrase, asking Moses point blank, “is My arm too short” (“is there any limit to My power?”) Isaiah wrote it in chapter 50 verse two and again in chapter 59. Jeremiah was often challenged to present such absurdities before the people to goad them into realizing their faith in God was far, far, too small. The Lord God instructed these prophets of His to be challenged into realizing that God can do it all.
Occasions in the New Testament scripture reveal times when new believers hesitated, wondering IF the Lord would be able, or IF He would be willing to heal them or a loved one. The truth is, God yearns to bless us. But He also wants to bless us with the right blessings. Sometimes the things we THINK we want to ask for are not within God’s plan for us. Thus, the Lord knows that the worst possible thing that could happen to His chosen ones is that they be granted a way to be outside of God’s will and plan. However, like those early new believers we, too, hesitate to trust God for bold requests.
Jesus invited us to come boldly before God in Christ’s name (in the Lord’s authority, purity, and place) and make bold requests in keeping with God’s will and plan. In recognizing that God is capable of making all that there ever was, is, or will be, we also recognize that it is God alone who can make a thing happen that we might be petitioning for. So why are our petitions so small? Why are we not asking for bold, giant steps of faith in our lives in the Lord? Is it because we are caught up in seeking pleasure, position, power, and property for ourselves before seeking the Lord’s will? When did you last ask the Lord for something that seemed impossible? We should not test the Lord, it is true, but it is His plan for us to trust in His ability to do anything. And, come to think of it, He did challenge us to “… prove Me now” (Malachi 3:10), not as a test, but as a way of learning how much we could depend upon the Lord to bless us when we live in total obedience.
I pray you will come boldly before God (1 Jn 3:21) and make requests that are worthy of Him. For whose salvation are you praying? What health, healing, or life change in another person are you claiming by faith? Walk boldly, pray boldly, and believe boldly!
Copyright Dan Elliott. To connect with the author, email [email protected]
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