Too Short
Posted by Annette Burrell, May 8, 2024
I am short. Not medium short. Simply short. At my tallest, I was 5 feet 1 inch. Now, I am 5 feet
tall. I can relate to Zacchaeus. I sit in the front row at church to ensure no one is in front
of me so I can see.
Even my arms are short. I roll up the sleeves to fit my arms when I purchase a long-sleeved blouse. A few weeks ago, I was playing cards. My girlfriends will testify that the stack in the
middle is always slightly situated toward my side of the table so I can reach it without stretching
my arm out of its socket.
Many of you will agree with me when I say, “I am so glad that neither God nor his arms are short.” Have you ever really thought about just how big He really is? The Bible doesn’t tell us how big God is, but He demonstrates it repeatedly.
The LORD answered Moses, ‘Is the LORD’s arm too short? Now you will see whether or not
what I say will come true for you.’ Numbers 11:23 (NIV)
The Holman Christian Standard Bible puts it like this, “Is the LORD’s power limited? . . .” These verses were written after the Hebrews had been led out of Egypt by God through Moses, and they complained about only eating manna. Moses was so frustrated he questioned God’s power.
Tell the people: ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow when you will eat meat.
The LORD heard you when you wailed, “If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in
Egypt!” Now the LORD will give you meat, and you will eat it. You will not eat it for just one day,
or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, but for a whole month—until it comes out of your
nostrils and you loathe it—because you have rejected the LORD, who is among you, and have
wailed before him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?” But Moses said, “Here I am among
six hundred thousand men on foot, and you say, ‘I will give them meat to eat for a whole
month!’ Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? Would they
have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?” The LORD answered Moses, "Is
the LORD’s arm too short? Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you." Numbers 11:18-23 NIV
God had just told Moses in verses 18-20 to tell the people, “The LORD” will give you meat, and you will eat it for a whole month.” Just two verses later, Moses questioned God.
Have you ever doubted God’s power to answer your prayers or His ability to do something big?
I have. I tell myself God is still in the miracle business, but do I demonstrate my belief?
I pray for a friend who has been diagnosed with cancer; then, I doubt God will heal their terminal
illness. I pray for a family member who needs a car and question how God will provide. I pray
for a family member’s salvation, then doubt he’ll deliver my loved one from the pit they are in.
When I begin to doubt, I seek The LORD, and He directs me to passages in the Bible that
encourage and reassures me that God is still God and I can trust Him to answer my prayers in
His will.
Nothing is too big for Him.
He wraps His arms around the earth as He stands in the
universe that He created. He speaks, and all creatures catch His breath.
Do you have an arm like God’s, and can your voice thunder like his? Job 40:9 (NIV)
The answer is no. No one is more powerful than God. Everything is in His control. He allowed
Satan to test Job, and Job was faithful and trusted God. Job lost everything, but because of his
faithfulness to God, the LORD blessed the later part of his life more than the former.
After years of prayer, He spiritually saved my family member last week, and Ric was baptized
yesterday.
God is faithful to answer prayers in His timing.
A girlfriend testified a few weeks ago that after 30 years of praying for her son, she and her husband witnessed his transformation. He has been born again and is a new creation in Christ. She sang the LORD’s praises that day.
Are you in a season of doubting God? Whatever your prayer is, I encourage you to be steadfast
in your request. It doesn’t matter if your arms are short and you have trouble reaching things. God has the power to reach what is unreachable for us. Trust in Him as Job did. There is no limit to His power.
Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. Psalm 98 (NIV)
Annette Burrell is an author, speaker, and singer/songwriter. Through Annette’s years of being a public servant, and her devotion to studying the Bible, God has equipped her to lead women into His presence, and share with them how they can grow in Christ. Her passion is learning, sharing about the Heavenly realms, and God’s plan of protection for us as believers.