The Book of Numbers- Faith and Failure in the Wilderness | From the Editors

Twenty years ago, Moody Bible Institute began publishing Today in the Word as a way to thank our faithful donors and partners for their support of our ministries. The decision to begin a Bible study publication reflected our commitment to God’s Word as the foundation of all that we believe. The goal of Today in the Word was, and is, to encourage others along the life-long journey of reading, understanding, and applying Scripture.

Today, tens of thousands of readers have joined Today in the Word on this journey toward knowing God and His Word more deeply. We are thrilled to hear reports of how God has used this daily Bible study to bless, challenge, and shape people.

You’ll notice some changes to our publication. We have added a place for you to write notes in the back of the devotional, “This Month’s Reflections.” We have also increased space to share notes from the editors as well as comments from readers. We are humbled to look back on how God has led us for the past twenty years, and we are excited to look forward to continuing ministry.

“We’ve Come This Far by Faith” is a song frequently sung in the African-American church:

“We’ve come this far by faith, leaning on the Lord, trusting in His holy Word.
He’s never failed me yet—oh, can’t turn around, we’ve come this far by faith.
Just the other day, I heard a man say he didn’t believe in God’s Word.
But I can truly say, the Lord has made a way—He’s never failed me yet.”

This inspired our theme for our twentieth anniversary year, “We’ve Come This Far by Faith.” We begin the year with a study of the book of Numbers, where we will see how Israel sometimes succeeded and sometimes failed at being a people of faith.

This study will remind us that any progress in our spiritual journey comes only from following by faith what God has said. The Israelites had a pillar of fire; we have the unfailing Word of God.

BY Elena Mafter

Elena Mafter has been working at Moody Bible Institute's Strategic Marketing and Communications department since 1999 and has been part of the Today in the Word team in a variety of roles: editor, proofreader, project coordinator, and contributing columnist. A transplant to the United States, she loves traveling, getting to know other cultures, and learning foreign languages (she's fluent in several!)