It wasn't the first time that it occurred, nor would it be the last. The people of Israel, led by those that you find in every crowd -- the whiners and complainers who see every jug as half empty -- they complain about the quality of food that was available to them in the desert.
They take it out on Moses, and he does what any other normal person would do when being yelled at by 600,000 men PLUS all their wives, children and mothers-in-law. He goes whining to the next-in-charge.
Moses spews it all out to the Lord -- full bore:
"These people - I didn't ask for them. Not my idea. I was happy being a shepherd. You didn't tell me this job included being short order BBQ cook for 2 million people! It's too much."

And the Lord, in all His gracious Sovereignty, allows his servant to let it out and then gives a very simple reply to his little 5 foot something shepherd turned national leader - "Is the LORD'S arm too short?...."
Basically - "Who said anything about you having to do this one, Moses? Of course the challenge is too much for you."

Too much for Moses -- just as much too much as asking a three year old to reach into the top cupboard above the fridge to get down the cookies. Kid's simply too short!
But now hear God speak: "Am I too short for this job, Moses? Can I not take care of what I started? Did I get in over my head when I made the world?"

Well, the remainder of Numbers 11 show how the Lord is more than able to provide -- even on short notice for 2 million grumbling, self-centred ingrates.
And story after story through the rest of scripture provide confirming answers to those who would question the reach or the strength of the outstretched arm of God.

Tonight we're going to think about that outstretched arm of God. We're going to think about it while being very much aware that there are times in the lives of each of us when we feel like that three year old in the kitchen --
We're too small. Our arms are too short. We simply can't measure up to the challenge that life happens to throw our way -
leaving us sometimes frustrated and ready to quit;
sometimes panicking about the future for ourselves & loved ones
sometimes despairing
sometimes angry and confused.
We're talking tonight about the doctrine of "PROVIDENCE" -
How God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth meets us "too short" people and provides for us.
Divine providing -- providence.

Please read with me what we confess the Bible to teach about providence:

God's divine providing -- Providence:
Belief in and reliance on this truth is one of the key things that sets Christians apart from non-Christians in our jumbled, mixed-up, pain-scarred world.

It's a critical belief, but also one of the most difficult truths to absorb.
As one person put it, "Looking ahead we can believe it. Looking back we can see it. But at the time we need it, the knowledge must be firmly planted within us that God rules the universe, including mountains and rivers and apple trees. God rules people, from premiers and presidents to beggars and bums. Our Father is boss over the whole business because the whole business belongs to Him."

Remember the words of Psalm 104 we read earlier in the service?

Providence. We may know it to be true, but I want to suggest that somewhere along the way all Christians have trouble grasping it with enthusiasm.

There are three occasions, according to the Catechism, that Providence teaching hits us square between the eyes; when we are forced to deal with it.
1. The easiest is the time of smooth sailing
2. more difficult is the time of trouble
3. and finally, there is the time of looking to the future.
Let's consider each in turn.

1. WHEN THINGS GO WELL
The catechism says that when things go well, we are thankful, not arrogantly self-congratulatory.. We know that what has been given us is given by the Father and that we are accountable to Him for its proper use and care.
This is not to say that we may not take pride in a job well done, or in exercising our given talents in a careful, exquisite manner. When we do a good job, it would be wrong not to receive satisfaction from that.
What Providence does do, however, is remind us that while we may be on centre stage receiving the award, there is One off in the wings, hidden just behind the curtains, our Master, the One who painstakingly moulded our talent, groomed our skills, stuck with us when we seemed hopeless, and showed us whatever we know. We did what we could, true. But not a stitch of it would have been possible if we did not have Him around and fully involved, every step of the way.

2. WHEN THINGS GO AGAINST US
Then there's the time of trouble. The Catechism says that we are patient when things go against us.
Patient. Even thankful - if you take Ephesians 5.20 literally.
Patient in whatever circumstance we happen to be.

That kind of Providence-inspired patience doesn't mean that we go through life oblivious of pain. In fact, since we know what creation once was -- remember what we talked about this morning? -- and because the Lord has told us in His Word what it will be like someday again,
I'd suggest that perhaps we feel pain more keenly, aware that death and hurt and jagged edges don't belong. They're out of place with God's plan. They grate. They're cursed impostors, sinister aliens in God's good earth.

The problem of pain is a big one for us all; always has been, and will continue to be until Jesus returns. For some folks the problem is so big that it becomes a roadblock, at least temporarily, to them making peace with, and surrendering to Jesus Christ. "How can there be a loving God when the world is filled with so much pain?" they ask. Fair question.
And, as John Stott points out, it would be a problem that would cause us all to run into a dead end..... were it not for the cross! Stott writes:
"We are not to see God on a deck chair, but on a cross. The God who allows us to suffer, once suffered Himself in Christ, and continues to suffer with us and for us today. He cries when we cry.
"I myself could never believe in God were it not for the cross. In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it? I have entered many Buddhist temples in different Asian countries and stood respectfully before the statue of the Buddha, his legs crossed, arms folded, eyes closed, the ghost of a smile playing round his mouth, a remote look on his face, detached from the agonies of the world. But each time, after a while I have had to turn away. And in my imagination I have turned instead to that lonely, twisted, tortured figure on the cross, nails through hands and feet, back lacerated, limbs wretched, brow bleeding from thorn pricks, mouth dry and intolerably thirsty, plunged in God-forsaken darkness. That is the God for me! He laid aside His immunity to pain. He entered our world of flesh and blood, tears and death. He suffered for us. Our sufferings become more manageable in the light of His.
Oh, there is still a question mark against human suffering, but over it we boldly stamp another mark - the Cross, which symbolizes divine suffering."

It is the cross, and the suffering of Jesus, suffering that guarantees us a future in glorious eternity beyond the end of earthly suffering and death --
-- it is the cross that allows us to carry on when we face roadblocks that are too great, and paths that are swallowed up in, as Job 19.8 puts it, great darkness.

Margaret Clarkson is a Canadian poet and hymn writer. 3 of her works are in our hymn book. She has endured much pain and illness in her life. In her book "Grace Grows Best In Winter" she speaks about the suffering of Jesus and His resurrection power over the worst that Satan could muster, and how that power is the anchor to which we cling as we do battle with the powers of darkness in our lives.
"The Prince of Darkness may seek to overcome us, but God is in control of the darkness which He allows to come to His children..... Although we may experience darkness, we are not under its power, for God who has delivered us from the power of darkness, has promised to bring us safely through it."

Meaning, for you and me, that we don't have to roll over and complacently accept whatever comes our way, like the Muslim who says "What difference does it make? Allah will have his way anyway."
For we have the words of Jesus calling us to agree together in prayer (Mt 18.19); calling us to press ahead and be persistent in prayer not giving up till we are given an answer (Lk 18.1-8).
And we can trust that as we struggle prayerfully against the pains and mountain-like obstacles in life, we have the Holy Spirit continually praying for us in the most perfect, divine way (Rom 8.26,27).
God is able, and will do immeasurably more than all we ask for or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us. (Eph 3.20)
He will give us what we need and He will see us through to the end.

One thing we DON'T want to do is shrug off suffering, ignore it, or run around making silly claims that Christians never will suffer so long as they believe enough or chant certain health-and-wealth slogans.
One of the most well-known Christian stories is Paul Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. If you haven't done so yet, you must read this allegory of the pilgrimage through life for a believer. The central figure is named Christian. At one point along his journey to the Celestial City he is confronted by the Devil himself who is determined to destroy him in hand-to-hand combat. He shrieks his defiance of God:
"I am an enemy to this Prince. I hate His person, His laws, and people. I am come out on purpose to withstand you... I swear that thou shalt go no further: here will I spill your soul."

That's no idle threat. There IS a battle going on, and all humanity, all creation, is involved in the struggle. All corners of creation are affected by this war between the forces of Heaven and the retreating forces of Hell.
All creation suffers, and as Christians we can expect even more than normal suffering -- we will be the focus of special attacks in addition to the normal pain felt by all who live in a world covered with thorns and thistles.

Later in his journey, Christian faces two hungry, roaring lions on each side of the path ahead of him. Someone further on encourages him to continue. "The lions are chained. Take care to stay to the centre of the path and you will not be devoured."
The lions we face in life are also chained, and our Sovereign Lord holds the end of the chain. Sometimes the chains are longer. Sometimes shorter. But never will we be devoured.

Providence - We never are promised NO suffering, but we are assured that we will never be alone. Our Father who controls the hurricane winds and the tiny insects is working for us and caring for us throughout the entire journey of life.

3. WHEN WE LOOK TO THE FUTURE
And finally, what about the future? The bible tells us in Phil 4.6 not to be anxious. Anxiety comes from a root word signifying lack of breathing space, suffocation. I'm sure you've seen one of these B-grade movies where the hero is locked in a room and the walls begin to move in, threatening to crush her.
The future may be like that room, pressing in on us, threatening to crush or suffocate us. But Jesus steps forward with His words of assurance, "In the world you will have tribulation. But be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world." (Jn 16.33).

We can stare tomorrow in the face saying, "I am not alone in my present or future; He has also endured it."
And so the future is no longer a fog-shrouded landscape somewhere out there where dark dangers lay just below the surface, ready to rise up and crush us. No, everything is entirely different.
For though we do not know what is coming, we do know WHO is coming! And the final hour belongs to Him. And because we also belong to Him we need not even fear the next minute. [H.Thieleke, Being A Christian When the Chips Are Down].

So, even when our eyes are clouded with tears, we can have hope.
Hope that provides power for endurance;
Hope that clears enough ground amidst the tangled undergrowth of our restless longing to give patience a chance to take root;
Hope that helps us live with the reality of a half-empty cup.

The future.... is God's future.
And His providence, His long strong arm, will bring us there -
Safe to the arms of Jesus
Safe to His gentle breast
There by His love o'er shadowed
Sweetly our souls shall rest.