Looking to God

Looking to God

Numbers 21:4 – 9

Becoming a Christian and continuing as a fulfilled one, is an ‘I was blind and now I see’ experience. As in the song, ‘Open the eyes of my heart Lord. I want to see you. To see you high and lifted up...’ Being able to see God is the key to passionately loving and trusting Him. When you fix your eyes on him, you gain an awareness and assurance of his presence (Hebrews 11:2; 2 Kings 6:17).

Knowing God is humanly impossible. Unless He shows Himself to the human heart, He remains unknown to the human mind. God being the creator has to show himself (Mathew 16:17). The unveiling of God to humanity is revelation. Revelation is an unveiling that enables you to see or hear his voice. You can position yourself in prayer, the word and the Holy Spirit for revelation to locate you. Before John received revelation, the angel invited him to ‘come up here and I will show you…’ (Revelation 4:1). Do you sometimes put yourself into places where you are unreachable to God’s signal?

The Bible is the complete primary revelation of God to humanity. The entrance of God’s word brings light (Psalm 119:130). In cherishing, meditating and obeying its message, God illuminates the primary revelation to a particular person, issue, or area of life.   The illumination can be viewed as secondary revelation for life.  The righteous shall live by faith. Faith comes by hearing the word (Romans 10:17). In other words, faith comes by receiving ‘revelation’.  Paul prayed that the Ephesians church would be filled with the spirit of wisdom and revelation (Ephesians 1:17). You also need to constantly ask for wisdom and revelation (James 1:5). Revelation without wisdom can be destructive when misapplied.

Numbers is an account of how the children of Israel wandered for forty years and lost a whole generation in the wilderness. They oscillated between spiritual highs and lows. The root of this instability was failure to sustain God’s revelation. The revelation of God or from God always brings a promise. That promise creates an expectation. The challenge comes on how to migrate from the place of revelation to the place of  its fulfillment (expectation).  Beginning has excitement but the test lies in being able to continue and to finish the race. Finishing gives the ultimate joy. God grant you grace not to look back until you cross the finish line.

The people of Israel were murmuring and spoke against Moses and against God (Numbers 21:5). They accused both, of bringing them to a place with no water and no meat to kill them. They spoke discontentedly of what God had done for them, and distrustfully of what he would do.

They wished they could go back to Egypt where they had food but they forgot the slavery and hard labor. They forgot both the goodness of God and the badness of  Egypt.  As  a result, God sent poisonous/fiery serpents (Numbers 21:6). The truth is there is nothing to go back for in a godless past life. Never be deceived, things outside God will never improve they will only get worse.

Message by Dr. Kurai Chitima.

Faith Ministries – Johannesburg Faith Life Center.

Ground and First Floors Sunset Bay Building,

204B Bram Fischer drive,

Randburg, Johannesburg, South Africa