Daily Devotional – Tuesday, September 8, 2026
And the LORD said to Moses, ‘Has the LORD’s arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether what I say will befall you or not.’
Numbers 11:23 (NKJV)
Moses was completely overwhelmed. The Israelites were crying for meat, and their demands had become too much for him to carry. He brought the matter before God, asking where he could possibly get enough meat for all those people. Moses knew the size of the crowd, the wilderness around them, and the impossibility of meeting such a demand. Then God answered with a question that went straight to the heart of Moses’ concern: “Has the LORD’s arm been shortened?”
When You Cannot See How God Will Do It
Moses’ question in the preceding verses showed how quickly the size of the need had taken over his thinking. He asked whether enough flocks and herds could be slaughtered or whether all the fish in the sea could be gathered for the people. He was looking at the problem through what human resources could provide. God had already promised to give Israel meat, so the real issue was not the difficulty of the assignment. Moses struggled to see how God could accomplish what He had said.
When God asked whether His arm had been shortened, He was speaking about His ability to act. The picture of God’s arm refers to his strength and power. A shortened arm suggests diminished ability, as though God had somehow lost the capacity to accomplish His purposes. Nothing in the passage suggests that God’s power had weakened. He had brought Israel out of Egypt and sustained them in the wilderness, and now He was assuring Moses that His word still carried the full weight of His power.
Has the LORD’s Arm Been Shortened?
God then told Moses, “Now you shall see whether what I say will befall you or not.” Moses did not need to discover a way to make God’s promise possible. God Himself would demonstrate that His word was reliable. The Lord had spoken, and Moses would witness the result. There was a marked difference between what Moses could calculate and what God could accomplish. Moses saw an enormous demand before him. God saw an opportunity to demonstrate that His ability had not diminished.
Consider situations when your own understanding is overwhelmed. You may know exactly what you have, what you lack, and why the situation looks impossible. Those facts are real, yet they do not define what God can do. When His Word gives you reason to trust Him, you can stop treating your limited resources as the final measure of what is possible. Come before God with your perplexities and allow Him to work beyond what you can see.
Prayer
Almighty God, You know formidable situations I am facing right now. When I start measuring what You can do by what I have in my hands, remind me that Your arm has not become short, and help me trust You with what I cannot solve.
