Daily Devotional – Wednesday, August 19, 2026
And the LORD said to Moses, ‘Has the LORD’s arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not.’
Numbers 11:23 (NKJV)
Have you ever sat down with figures and discerned they simply do not add up? The money is not enough, the time is too short, and the resources you have cannot possibly meet the need. Moses found himself in that kind of situation. The Israelites were complaining because they wanted meat, and God told Moses that He would provide it for a whole month. Moses looked at the crowd before him, about six hundred thousand men on foot besides women and children, and wondered how such a promise could possibly be fulfilled. From where he stood, the numbers made no sense.
When the Numbers Do Not Add Up
Moses was not exaggerating the problem. It really was enormous. He asked whether all the flocks and herds could be slaughtered or whether all the fish in the sea could be gathered to provide enough for the people. His questions show how easily a difficult situation can become so big in our minds that we begin to wonder whether God can really handle it. Then God asked him a simple but penetrating question: “Has the LORD’s arm been shortened?” He was not telling Moses to pretend the situation was easy. He was reminding him that the size of the problem had nothing to do with the limits of God’s power.
We can find ourselves in the same place. We calculate what we have and quietly conclude that the situation cannot work. Sometimes the calculation is accurate. We really may lack the money, ability, connections, time, or strength required. Faith does not mean pretending those facts are not there. The problem comes when we take the limits of our resources and make them the limits of God. What we cannot provide does not mean God cannot act. What we cannot understand does not mean God has lost control. Moses could see the impossibility in front of him, but he could not see what God was about to do.
Has the LORD’s Arm Been Shortened?
God did not give Moses a detailed explanation of how He would provide the meat. He simply said, “Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not.” Moses did not need to figure out how God would do it before he could trust Him. The Lord did provide the meat, sending quail into the camp in extraordinary abundance. Yet the story does not end as a simple lesson about getting what we want. The people’s craving was tied to their complaining and rejection of God’s provision, and judgement followed. That matters because trusting God does not mean that He will give us everything we ask for. It means trusting His wisdom and His word, even when we cannot see what He is doing.
Perhaps you are facing something today that makes you say, “I don’t see how this can happen.” Be honest about the situation. Do what you can. Make the plans you need to make, use the resources available to you, and accept the things you cannot control. Then remember God’s question to Moses: “Has the LORD’s arm been shortened?” You may not have enough, and you may not know what to do next. You may not even see a possible way forward. Still, none of those things limits God. You do not have to understand how He will work before you trust Him. Sometimes faith means looking at the same impossible situation and remembering that the God who speaks is greater than the problem standing in front of you.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, when I look at my circumstances and cannot see a way forward, remind me that my limitations do not limit You. Help me trust Your word, act wisely, and remain faithful even when I cannot see how You will accomplish what You have promised.
