God had made an absolute promise to Moses. For an entire month, he would feed that vast multitude in the wilderness with meat. But Moses, overtaken by unbelief, started examining the outward means. He was at a loss—how could this promise possibly be fulfilled? He looked to the creature instead of the Creator.

But tell me, does the Creator need the creature to keep his promises for him? Does he? No! The One who makes the promise fulfills it by his own unaided omnipotence. When he speaks, it is done—done by himself! His promises don't hang on the thread of human cooperation or depend on our puny strength.

We can see Moses's mistake clearly. And yet, beloved, how often we make the exact same error! God promises to meet our needs, and what do we do? We look to the creature to accomplish what only the Creator can do. Then, when we see how weak and feeble the creature is, we give in to unbelief.

Why do we even look in that direction? Would you go to the Arctic to pick tropical fruit? You would be no more foolish doing that than when you look to weak humanity for strength, or expect the creature to do the Creator's work.

So let's set this matter straight. The foundation of faith is not whether the visible means look sufficient to fulfill the promise. The foundation is the all-sufficient, invisible God who will most surely do what he has said. If we see clearly that the burden rests with the Lord, not with any creature, and we still dare to doubt, then God's question comes home to us with mighty force: "Has the Lord's hand become short?"

And may it be, in his mercy, that along with that question, this glorious declaration flashes into our souls: "You will see now whether my word comes to pass or not!"