Today we read Exodus 17 in our Spoken Word Bible Reading Plan. Verses 1-7:
1 All the congregation of the Israelites moved on from the Wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and encamped at Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Therefore, the people contended with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said to them, Why do you find fault with me? Why do you tempt the Lord and try His patience? 3 But the people thirsted there for water, and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst? 4 So Moses cried to the Lord, What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me. 5 And the Lord said to Moses, Pass on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand the rod with which you smote the river [Nile], and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at [Mount] Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 He called the place Massah [proof] and Meribah [contention] because of the faultfinding of the Israelites and because they tempted and tried the patience of the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us or not?
It always amazes me that those who were delivered out of the bondage and slavery that they had known in Egypt by such miraculous manifestations of the Goodness and Glory of Almighty God would now think that He would not give them water to drink! When David faced Goliath, he reminded himself of what the LORD had done for him in the past. 1 Samuel 17:33-37:
33 And Saul said to David, You are not able to go to fight against this Philistine. You are only an adolescent, and he has been a warrior from his youth. 34 And David said to Saul, Your servant kept his father’s sheep. And when there came a lion or again a bear and took a lamb out of the flock, 35 I went out after it and smote it and delivered the lamb out of its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard and smote it and killed it. 36 Your servant killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God! 37 David said, The Lord Who delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and the Lord be with you!
THIS is what those Israelites SHOULD have been doing when they needed water, or later when they needed food! Instead, they complained and cast the blame on the one whom God had used to deliver them! I have also seen SO many born again, Spirit-filled believers who have turned away from the Word of God and from church because it didn't LOOK like their prayers were being answered. The GOOD news is that God ALWAYS has a way out for every hard situation we will ever face, but we MUST develop strong faith in HIM and His faithfulness, and a NEVER QUIT attitude and determination in order to have that answer manifest (1 Corinthians 10:13). God LOVES us with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3) and NOTHING can stop Him from doing so, BUT, He is NOT moved to action by emotion! He is ONLY moved by His Word! We MUST do what David did and continually remind ourselves of God's protection, provision and safety that was manifest before. We must meditate on this and on the promises of the Word that cover this. When WE refuse to quit and will get back to that place of faith in HIM, then HE will show us the way out and lead us directly through each situation to a victorious finish! Let's get busy and do OUR part! God is waiting on us! AMEN! Here is Hillsong with "Desert Song":
Shalom in Him!
