All the creation of Lord God appear marvelous and wonderful as we think about them though they may appear trivial to those people who don't think about them. At times the Lord performs extraordinary acts in the midst of His people. Since these are uncommon but remarkable happenings, they appear marvelous, wonderful and amazing. For His children who know Him, He tells beforehand the amazing things that He is going to perform, either directly or through His angel or through some man chosen by Himself. God wants His people to believe such messages and when they fail to believe, He is angered and He punishes them. Now may God help us consider the examples of three men who were punished by God for failing to believe the messages they received.

God spoke face to face with Moses of whom He testified as the one who was faithful in all His house. Through him, the Lord performed many amazing acts. As there was no water for the Israelites in the desert, they quarreled with Moses and argued with him. Moses pleaded with the Lord. The Lord told Moses to strike the rock at Horeb to cause the water to come out for the people to drink. Moses believed the Lord's word and it happened so. That was certainly a miracle. If water gushed out of a rock when it was struck by a rod, it was truly amazing. Moses believed that. Then God wanted to perform a still greater miracle. The same water problem arose for a second time. This time the Lord said to Moses, "Speak to the rock and it will pour out its water" (Num. 20:8). Probably Moses found it difficult to believe this.

Instead of just speaking to the rock, due to lack of faith, he struck it as he had done earlier. Nevertheless water gushed out. However this disbelief displayed by Moses made him unfit to lead the people of God to Canaan (Num. 20:11-12). Till the end, the Lord did not alter the punishment pronounced on Moses that he would not enter the land of Canaan. Children of God! Whatever the Lord tells us to do, let us never doubt His word and question its possibility, but act with faith. Let us protect our calling. The Lord is righteous and exact in His judgment. Let us worship Him with fear.

In the days when priest Zacharias was performing his priestly duties before God, Gabriel the angel of God appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense, told him that his wife would bear him a son who was to be named John and also told him what manner of man he would be. This Zacharias was righteous before God and was walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord. He was aware of the history of his forefather Abraham and his wife Sarah who gave birth to Isaac though she was past the age of bearing a child. The angel of God came to tell him of what was going to happen, though the message appeared humanly impossible. The messenger was an angel of God. Yet, this man of God could not believe that. He viewed the power of God with human perception. Not realizing from whom the message came nor considering who brought the message, he doubted it (Luke 1:6-18). Though it is impossible to humans, is there anything impossible to God? To God, everything is possible. Though Zacharias did not believe, the message given through the angel of God did happen. But this Zacharias was punished for his disbelief. Till the day of naming of his child, he remained dumb.

Children of God who love Him and follow His commandments! When God tells you beforehand what He intends to do through dreams, visions or angels as you are His child, don't doubt the message even if it appears beyond human power. Even if you fail to believe, what is foretold by God will happen; But know for certain that you will receive cane blows for your disbelief.

Next we would see a man who, though an Israelite and aware of the acts of God, met with death because he failed to believe the word that went out of the mouth of a man of God. There was a great famine in Samaria when it was besieged by the Syrian army. The king sent a man to the prophet Elisha to inquire about the state of affairs. Then Elisha said, "Hear the word of the Lord: 'Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel , at the gate of Samaria'" (2 King 7:1). At that time, a donkey's head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a fourth of a cab of seed pods for five shekels of silver (II King 6:25). How could Elisha say this so generously? How could this happen? That would happen by God! The king's officer did not believe the word of the man of God. It was known in Samaria what a man of God Elisha was! Even though that officer did not believe, it happened just as Elisha foretold. At the gate of Samaria, a seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley also was sold for a shekel. But that officer could not buy that and eat for he died as the people trampled him in the gateway.

God reveals in His church of what He is going to do in this world by the church. Even if you fail to believe what you hear, God will certainly fulfill the words of the men of God. But you will not have any part in that glory! Beloved, "Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you: 'for I am going to do something in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you'" (Acts 13:40-41)(NIV).