Respect God's Decisions

Now Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men. And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men. They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” When Moses heard it, he fell on his face, and he said to Korah and all his company, “In the morning the Lord will show who is his, and who is holy, and will bring him near to him. The one whom he chooses he will bring near to him. Do this: take censers, Korah and all his company; put fire in them and put incense on them before the Lord tomorrow, and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the holy one. You have gone too far, sons of Levi!” And Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: is it too small a thing for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the Lord and to stand before the congregation to minister to them, and that he has brought you near him, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? And would you seek the priesthood also? Therefore it is against the Lord that you and all your company have gathered together. (Numbers 16:1-11)

It happens these days; a congregation decides the leaders God appointed did everything wrong and they wanted to be treated as leaders themselves. Reading the rest of the story shows what God thinks of such behavior. He was angry, separated those who grumbled from the rest, then opened up the earth and swallowed the whole works, including their wives and children.

I’ve known of a church where the congregation was so difficult that their pastor committed suicide. Some leaders are dismissed, kindly or otherwise. Some just leave. The above passage says that the rebellion was actually against God's choice. Moses was not teaching false doctrine, or taking advantage of anyone. The problem was not with their leader but their desire to rule their own lives.

I know how that feels when trouble hits. Impatience wants it fixed, now. Yet God gave me two verses as a new Christian and these thoughts have made a difference. He will not let me forget His plans for me:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8:28–29)

After moving many times and attending many churches, I’ve seen that the Lord can use even poor preachers to teach me something. His goal is transformation — and Jesus never rebelled against anything that others would want fixed. Instead, He died for our sins.

The OT rebelled against God and He had every right to destroy them. He could do that to me also, but instead He sent Jesus who was swallowed up by death that I might live, that I might experience “all things” including the tough stuff so He could replicate Himself in me.

Jesus, how important to respect and learn from Your choices. I could complain — and be swallowed up by worldly and sinful values. I could grumble about a lot of things, complaining and demanding their removal. Doing that would totally miss the point of why You bring challenges into my life. Thank You for reminding me again to be thankful and trust You, no matter what.