BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

them, saying: "Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fi sh which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!" (Numbers 11:4-6, NKJV). God doesn't respond well when His people complain and doubt His ability to care for them. They tempt Him to anger when they say, "Can God really do this for me?" Psalm 106 confi rms that by giving us God's response to the Israelites' complaints. It says: ...They did not [earnestly] wait for His plans [to develop] regarding them, but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness and tempted and tried to restrain God [with their insistent desires] in the desert. And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their souls and [thinned their numbers by] disease and death (verses 13-15, Amplifi ed Bible, Classic Edition). Instead of their impatient grumbling opening the door for fi re and snakes to come upon them, the Israelites' request for meat resulted in something entirely di erent. God "sent leanness into their souls." He gave them exactly what they wanted. In fact, He gave them more than they wanted. He gave them meat to eat, but not just for a meal or two. God rained quail down for thirty days until it came out of their nostrils and became loathsome to them (Numbers 11:20). If that wasn't bad enough, "While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was aroused against the people...." A great plague resulted. "So he called the name of that place Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had yielded to craving " (Numbers 11:33-34, NKJV). The moral of that story is clear: It's better to wait for God's plans concerning us to develop. If we push ahead of His timing to get what we want, we may regret it in the end. If we get impatient and try to force things to happen more quickly than God intended, the thing we thought we wanted can become a snare and a burden to us. We may get a substitute while we miss God's best. God's promised blessings, obtained too soon in a carnal way, can actually turn out to be a curse. The Israelites proved that at least twice— once in the wilderness, and again many years after they reached the Promised Land. The second time they made that mistake, they were pushing God to give them a king. At the time, the prophet Samuel was the spiritual leader of Israel, so the people brought their demand to him. Samuel knew that the Lord had not chosen "any man to be a ruler over My people Israel" (2 Chronicles 6:5, NKJV). He realized their insistence on a king displeased the Lord, but when he prayed about it, God gave him a surprising answer. He said: "Hearken unto the voice of the people in all they say unto thee; for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not be King over them " (1 Samuel 8:7). Why were the Israelites in such a hurry to have a king? Why did they disregard God's warning and demand He give them a ruler— even though they knew he would be hard on them? They wanted to be like all the other nations (1 Samuel 8:5, 20, AMPC). That's a tendency we, as believers, can fall prey to as well. Sometimes as we're walking out the plan of God for our lives, we'll start envying others who are further down the road. We'll see the seasoned believer who has been tithing and giving for years, developing his faith and his confi dence in God's provision. Then we'll start comparing our fi nancial status to his. We might think, Hey, that man has a nicer car than I do! He has a bigger house! Or we might look at someone who has a better job or a bigger ministry, and become dissatisfi ed with what God has currently given us. Well, God loves me just as much as He loves him, we'll start thinking. So I'm just going to step out by faith and buy that big house. I'm going to get a car just like his. I'm going to push for a higher position at work or a bigger ministry. There's a fl aw in that kind of reasoning. Even though God loves us all equally, even though He wants to bless us all richly, He has a plan and a timetable that will bring those blessings to each of us at just the right time, in the best possible way. Patience Makes Us Stronger How do you keep from making that mistake? Just keep trusting God and be patient. Keep believing He always has your best interests 2 0 : B V O V Kenneth Copeland John Copeland Kellie Copeland Watch the Spanish broadcast on Enlace or es.kcm.org WATCH ON Broadcasts subject to change without notice Daily broadcast: Mon. - Fri. 3 a.m. | 7 a.m. 11 a.m. | 7:30 p.m. | 10:30 p.m. Weekly broadcast: Sun. 6 a.m. | 1 p.m. | 8 p.m. also Mon. 4:30 p.m. | Sat. 7:30 a.m. | 8:30 p.m. ET C H A N N E L WATCH ON WATCH ON Daily broadcast: Mon. - Fri. 3 a.m. | 7 a.m. C H A N N E L JUNE BVOV BROADCAST CALENDAR Sun., June 1 An Unshakable Life Is Built on God's WORD Kenneth Copeland June 2-6 Building a Legacy of Faith Kenneth Copeland w/ John Copeland and Kellie Copeland Sun., June 8 The BLESSED Life Begins When You Choose To Fear Not Kenneth Copeland June 9-13 God Is Your Father Kenneth Copeland w/ John Copeland and Kellie Copeland Sun., June 15 God's BLESSING Plan Leads You to a Fear-Free Life Kenneth Copeland June 16-20 Walk by Faith and Not by Sight Kenneth Copeland Sun., June 22 Victory In Life Comes by Being a Doer of God's WORD Kenneth Copeland June 23-27 The God of More Than Enough Kenneth Copeland Sun., June 29 Walk In Victory by Speaking Jesus' Words Kenneth Copeland

• Cover