Numbers 11:21-23 (CEB)

21 Moses said, “The people I’m with are six hundred thousand on foot and you’re saying, ‘I will give them meat, and they will eat for a month.’ 22 Can flocks and herds be found and slaughtered for them? Or can all the fish in the sea be found and caught for them?”

23 The Lord said to Moses, “Is the Lord’s power too weak? Now you will see whether my word will come true for you or not.”


Reflection

I’ve often been fascinated with the intricacies of a cat’s coat of fur. I’ve had cats since I was four-years-old so I’ve had a lot of time to think about something like their fur. Perhaps it’s similar with other animals, but when you look at a cat, visually you see whatever pattern (or lack thereof) that they have. Let’s take my cat for example: he’s a marble tabby so his coat is extremely complicated with big patterns and many colors. When he lies flat, his markings are extremely symmetrical.

When you brush in the opposite direction of his fur though, it reveals that the base of each individual hair is actually white, and only grows into the various colors to create the beautiful patterns. Why? My Google search didn’t give me much insight into why this might be, but it seems like a more complicated way to go about decorating his fur. why doesn’t the hair at the root have the color at the end?

It may sound strange, but when I sit there petting my cat, observing the complexity of his fur, it makes me pause at the unimaginable power and creativity of God. In today’s text, Moses is convinced the his people are going to starve, that there’s no way of feeding them (for a month!) without catching every fish in the sea or killing full herds of animals. God is completely un-phased, though. God’s power can feed thousands, and can delicately mold together intricate patterns on fur in complicated ways. The possibilities are limitless and we go about our days not noticing most of these complex details that God’s power creates.

By Rachel Callender


For Pondering & Prayer

What is something that has made you think, “God put a ton of thought into that”? Maybe it’s something in nature, or the way notes string together to create cords, or the process of water boiling. What focuses your attention on the vast possibilities behind God’s power?

Prayer: Lord over all, if only we saw every details you’ve knit into our day. Help us to see something new this day, so that we may remember that you are far more powerful than we realize. Amen.