Moses comes to the God with his frustrations. The ever-complaining people have found his very last nerve and he is not sure that he can take much more. God comforts Moses by telling him that it’s not HIM they are testing, it’s God. The word “test” in this portion of scripture is incredibly important. It means to “try, test, prove, to judge by smell.” The picture it brings to mind is that of a dog sniffing out another dog to ensure he or she is a friend not a foe. After all Israel had saw God do in their lives, when faced with an obstacle, they felt the need to “sniff him out” and see if He really would be who He said He would be.
A few years ago, after studying this portion of scripture, God woke me up in the early morning hours with these words, “Niki, how long are you going to keep smelling me?” My heart flooded with conviction. I realized that no matter how many scriptures I had been quoting on the daily and how many faith statements I had made, my response to the impossible situation I was facing truly revealed who I thought God was and the level of my faith in Him. I also discovered that how I responded to God in the difficult seasons in life affected how I responded to my family in the difficult seasons in life. Doubt and unbelief had led to anxiety, stress, and a very impatient Mama. Grace was all but forgotten.
Falling to my knees beside the bed, I thanked God for His early morning wake up call. I repented of my unbelief and asked Him to increase my faith. Over the course of the next few days, I made it my mission to search out every verse about who God was and declare it over and over again. I would say it until my heart believed it.
Revelation 1 verse 4 says: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty; who was and is and is to come.” The God of the Bible is the God of today. He is still able to do all that He did back then. Nothing about Him has changed. James 1:17 says in Him there is “no variance or shadow of turning.”
Did He heal sick in the Bible? Then He can still do it.
Did He destroy the works of the enemy? Then He can still do it.
Did He provide for His people when they had need? Then He can still do it.
Whatever you are facing today – whatever mountain you are staring down or Goliath is calling your name - know this – The God who was faithful, is faithful, and will always be faithful. He does not change. He will not change. And when you call on Him, He will answer (Psalm 91:15).