Always Look to God
Key Point
Here is what we want you to learn today; Always look to God! You know, with the Coronavirus still happening, I think this story will help us get some perspective. There are some huge questions. Like, why did God allow this to happen? How does God feel about everything that is going on? Is he taking a back seat, or is he on the front lines? To be clear, I don’t think that this story will give us all the answers, but it will provide us with clues.
About the Story
The nation of Israel has left, and they have been wandering in the wilderness for a long time now. Now just before this story takes place. The people have complained about no water, and Moses hits his staff twice on the rock, and water gushes out! After this, the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that the Israelites were approaching on the road through Atharim. So he attacked the Israelites and took some of them as prisoners. Then the people of Israel made this vow to the Lord: “If you will hand these people over to us, we will completely destroy all their towns.” The Lord heard the Israelites’ request and gave them victory over the Canaanites. The Israelites destroyed them and their towns, and the place has been called Hormah ever since.
No matter how unfortunate your circumstances might be. You can always look to God!
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Application
There is so much for us to learn from this short story. Most importantly, Always look to God! In scripture, we see God’s love for humanity. Over and over again, God rescues people from a difficult or dangerous situation. But, in this story, we see God actually causing the difficulty. God sent the snakes, which at first glance seems to be the opposite of rescue.
This can be hard to make sense of and understand. Have you ever played with a friend who’s parents never corrected his or her behaviour? If you probably didn’t enjoy spending time with him or her.
We all need correction. Remember, Israel was complaining about God’s instruction. They were talking poorly of God and Moses. So God used the snakes to correct them. This seems kind of harsh, but imagine if Israel was left to complain and self-centred. I think it would have been cruel not to correct Israel. So, in a way, God’s correction for us is part of his compassion. He intervenes so that we don’t continue to hurt ourselves and others. Now when I say correction it is not to say that our freedom to choose has been taken away. He corrects the Israelites through reminders, encouragement, and sometimes difficult circumstances.
At the beginning of the episode, Bradon noted that this story could help us gain some perspective on what is happening today, specifically with the Corona Virus.
Sometimes, bad things happen because of bad choices we or others make and sometimes bad things happen that seem to be completely unrelated to our behaviours. Like the Corona Virus, a tornado or family member gets sick.
I am not sure why God allowed this to happen, but what I do know regardless of why he allowed it to happen, my response will always be the same. I will always look to God! We can trust God because he has proven his Character to be loving, compassionate, and faithful, His Character is consistent. It does not change.
We know from the stories in the bible and through our own life experiences, that God is not taking a back seat. God is experiencing all these world events and his heartaches with all the pain and difficulty he sees. Maybe we are asking the wrong question. Instead of why did God allow this to happen? Perhaps we should be asking, will I trust God during this situation? Each person will need to answer that question for themselves.
In this story, God did not take away the snakes but gave people a means to receive healing from snake bites. As we look to God, as we go to him, we will find healing and restoration in a lot of areas of our lives. What I can’t say to anyone is what God will heal you or anyone else of. Unlike this story, today, there is no bronze snake on a pole to look at so we can be healed.
The story around the Corona Virus is still unfolding. The very best thing you can do is to Always Look To God!
