The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Exodus 17:1-2,
"The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. So they quarreled with Moses and said, 'Give us water to drink.'"
"The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. So they quarreled with Moses and said, 'Give us water to drink.'"
In this passage we see the Lord is directing Israel through the desert. These verses tell us the Lord commanded them where to travel, from "place to place." Here in Rephidim, where the Lord sent them, there was no water. In verse 3 we are told the people were thirsty and began their grumbling again.
Since the Lord was leading them, why did they wind up in a place where there was no water, where they would find themselves thirsty? The obvious answer to that is the Lord was teaching them to rely on him, to grow their faith.
I don't know how many times I have heard someone say that when you are being "led by the Lord" he will "bless you." What they mean by being blessed is that the Lord would insure there would be no difficulties encountered - no bad, only the good.
I'm not reading here that that is how the Lord works. As a matter of fact, the Israelites found themselves in a real pickle! Thirsty and no water! They would have to look to the Lord.
From our view we see exactly why the Lord led the Israelites there. He had a lesson in faith for them. Why is it so difficult for us to see what the Lord is doing in our lives when we encounter difficulty?
Might the Lord not be taking us through a similar lesson in learning to lean on his strength? His provision?
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
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