"But I said I was sorry..."

Numbers 21:4-9 (click on reference to read text)

Honesty time... how many times have we said we were sorry, repented for our sins, and then were frustrated when God didn't take away the situation we found ourselves in?  I mean, we said we were sorry, right?!  When this happens we often begin to go on an entirely new line of questions... Does that mean that God didn't truly accept my repentance?  Is He not sovereign enough to pull me out of this mess?  I think today, the Lord gave me an answer!

In this passage we once again find the Israelites grumbling.   They become impatient with the long journey and complain, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food" (vs. 5).  God just one chapter earlier brought water from a rock!  Clearly He is taking care of them, and the only reason they are still in the wilderness in the first place is because they refused to go in and capture the Promised Land like He asked (Numbers 13-14).  So what does God do?  He sends poisoness snakes among the camp, and the people who were bit died.

They were not stupid, and neither are we when bad stuff starts to happen as a result of our sin.  We realize what we have done and we repent.  God honored their repentance and he gave a plan of action: "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live"(vs.8).  However, there is a key point: notice God did not REMOVE the snakes.  He just provided away out from death.

There will be times when our sin will wreak havoc in our lives.  There will be consequences, and most likely, they will be unpleasant.  However, just as God provided a means from death for the Israelites, He provided a means for us from Eternal Damnation through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  His forgiveness of our sins will always provide away from "death", but it may not always remove the consequences.  We must always remember that God's sovereignty is not dependent or affected by our present circumstances!

So... find yourself in a mess?  Need a way out?  Choose Jesus and remember, "For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.  As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him" (Psalm 103:11-13).