“But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.’ ” (Numbers 20:12)
Two things about disobeying God:
1) It always brings a negative consequence. For Moses and Aaron, the result was obvious, and I’m sure it was painful. For us as believers, Jesus paid the ultimate price for our disobedience to God – whatever form that takes. Our sin is forgiven eternally, but the fallout of ignoring God’s instruction not to ram your head into walls is that you get hurt in this life – because you rammed your head into a wall.
2) Obeying God is, above everything else, a trust issue. Someone might say, “I trust God. Really! I just don’t want to do what he told me to do.” That’s false. Trusting God means doing what he tells us to do – even if it doesn’t makes sense to us. Even if we don’t want to do it. Trust means being willfully convinced that he is right and His way is best.
So He said to Moses and Aaron: “Because you did not trust me enough . . .”
Think: Are you ever tempted to think that your disobedience doesn’t hurt anyone because your sins are forgiven? Why is that not true? Is it possible to trust God and disobey him at the same time?
Pray: Ask God to help you to trust and obey him because he is a trustworthy Father who would never steer you in the wrong direction.
Do: Next time you’re tempted to disobey God, notice in your heart whether you are doubting that he is right or that he loves you or that he is powerful enough to provide for you.