About CFC
On being dumb
By Keith Patrick
11th February 2012 | Category: Join the Journey 2012
Key Verse
“When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”
Main Content
Central theme: God’s love is incredibly enduring
How dumb were the Israelites?
They have witnessed the Egyptians suffer plagues of blood in the Nile, frogs, gnats, flies, dead livestock, boils, hailstones and locusts. They have witnessed Egypt loose every firstborn son and animal. Their captors have given these former slaves vast amounts of gold and silver. They have seen the Lord in a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire. They have walked across the dry bed of the Red Sea. Bread and quail appeared daily out of nowhere. Moses hit a rock and water, sufficient for the entire people of Israel came out. When they arrived at Mount Sinai they saw and heard lightning, thunder and trumpets from heaven of such intensity that they all shook with fear.
In every conceivable way they saw and experienced the provision of God. Imagine if we saw God in an actual pillar of cloud or an actual pillar of fire would we not give continual, reverent thanks that we are cared for by such an incredible God?
Wouldn’t we?
What caused the Israelites, who had seen all of this to then make a metal cow to worship just because Moses had been gone too long?
Unfortunately both the Israelites and us suffer the same condition – human nature. It is easy to say – We would never have done what they did. Peter would have said the same thing. He saw the dead raised to life, he walked on water, he saw Jesus transfigured, and he heard the very voice of God. Peter promised Jesus, swore to Him, that no matter what he would never desert Him…..
I haven’t quite seen the things noted above but in my personal and work life I have experienced the help, presence and love of God in ways that have made me laugh out loud because they have been so outrageously unbelievable. But still, just like those followers of God who have gone before me I still act in ways, say and think things that I wish I didn’t and forget or overlook the things I want to be doing.
How could I be so dumb?
Consider:
Thankfully, mercifully, wonderfully we follow a God who is enduringly patient, enduringly forgiving and who enduringly longs to speak with us “as people speak face to face”.
Today acknowledge your weaknesses before Him and give thanks again for His never-ending love.
Keith Patrick
Hi, I’m Keith Patrick and I live in East Belfast with my amazingly wonderful wife Suzanne, and my two beautiful young children and one old English Springer spaniel. I have attended Christian Fellowship Church for more years than I can remember and I enjoy food, laughter and watching episodes of The Modern Family. I work in the construction industry and Suzanne is a final year paediatric nursing student.
