Numbers are the universal language spoken across the globe and the cosmos. Numbers count days and dollars, space and time. Numbers measure your weight and mark your age. Numbers differentiate winners and losers into first and as far away as last place. Numbers separate and unite people by declaring minorities and majorities. Numbers are powerful and even emotional. Think 45, 666, your address, infinity….WW III.
Behind the numbers are people, places and things. God said “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.'” The Bible teaches us that numbers are important but understanding the who, what and why behind the numbers is more important. Numbers help us see and understand but they don’t drive our lives. Are they driving your life?
We live in a world obsessed and possessed with numbers. In the story that is your life, do numbers play a lead or supporting role? Is your family dictated by how many children you can afford or is there something else behind those numbers? Do you judge happiness and success by how much money you make, the number of hours you work or how many weeks vacation you take? Do these numbers lead your life or support the decisions you make regardless of the numbers? Is your faith in numbers or elsewhere?
Numbers are often front and center but they don’t speak for themselves. Numbers reveal what is behind them. Numbers tell a story, reveal the narrative, show the character, perspective and people behind them. Numbers expose us. They expose our faith, our hearts and our fears. IF we learn to discern the wisdom behind the numbers they can change your life.
Numbers are so ubiquitous in our everyday lives it is imperative we understand what is behind them. Numbers can reveal what is hidden and give us wisdom when they are understood. This has always been true. More than 3000 years ago the writer of Psalm 90:12 put it this way…’Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.’
The wisdom to discern and understand what is behind the numbers is found in and through a relationship with God and reading His Word. The writer of Job declared God controls EVERYTHING behind the numbers when he wrote ‘..a person’s days are determined and the number of his months depends on you..’ God uses numbers to communicate and share His wisdom…but HE doesn’t need them.
The Bible has numerous stories to show us how numbers can expose our faith. Most often we believe there is strength and power in numbers. The Bible tells us strength and power come from God. God used 300 men under the obedience of Gideon to defeat 135,000 soldiers. David slew Goliath who was much older and larger in size. Twenty thousand people were fed with 5 loaves of bread and two fish. Elijah was one prophet of God against 850 prophets representing the world. The one man of God survived while the 850 perished. These examples emphasize the point…God doesn’t need numbers to accomplish His will. Today, the world is trying to accomplish the same feat.
A friend recently told me she felt outnumbered when Clarke County flew a flag other than the American flag. While ‘feelings’ are real, they don’t connotate the truth behind the numbers. Even after doubling the last 10 years, the numbers reveal that only 7% of individuals ‘identify’ as something other than heterosexual. Those numbers reveal a narrative by a very vocal minority. I reminded my friend she is FAR from outnumbered because God doesn’t need numbers…He needs apostles and disciples.
Numbers can change things. Numbers have changed the game of baseball (Moneyball) into a statistics class. Numbers can be altered to change elections. A $6.2 billion accounting error might change the face of the war in Ukraine. Numbers can make a church lose their first love and focus on programs. In the Garden of Eden, Eve chose to focus on ONE tree as opposed to thousands of others and it altered the course of humanity. It is critical to understand the who, what and why behind the numbers.
Jesus reminded us of the need to understand what numbers reveal but not to make them the driving force in your life. He said “‘Even the very hairs of your head are numbered. So don’t be afraid…'” In other words, I KNOW the numbers…put your faith in me!
Numbers can make some heads spin and give others clarity. So…do YOU ‘trust the numbers’ or ignore them? Do you focus solely on the numbers or do you look to understand what is behind them?
I’ll close with the encouragement to ALWAYS look at what the numbers say, but look behind them as well. I believe you will see good and evil, God and the world behind numbers. I believe it is imperative to see how the numbers are being used and what story they tell…and WHO they reveal.
Thanks for the post. Interesting points regarding how God is not constrained by numbers and delights in using the few (5 loaves to feed 5,000; 300 to defeat 135,000). Well said. Prayed for you and your extended family today.