Lent 3 (A)

Sunday, March 7, 1999

When There is No Water

Exodus 17:1-7

David, the psalmist, knew what it was to trust God. He gave us those beloved words, "He leads me beside still waters, He makes me to lie down in green pastures." As he reflected over God's provision in his life and tended for his sheep under a lonely Mediterranean sky, he knew that as he cared for his sheep, God was a Shepherd who cared for him.

Sometimes, though, we resonate with the familiar words:

Though sometimes He lead through waters deep,

Trials fall across the way;

Though sometimes the path seems rough and steep

See His footprints all the way.

David reminds us of those times when God leads us beside still waters. The hymn writer Luther Bridges reminds us of those times when we sense God's leadership through times of trial and difficulty. What do we do, though, when God leads us to a place where there is no water?

There is so much to be learned from the time of the wilderness wanderings. We find it easy to berate those children of Israel who seemed to have a hard time learning how to trust and obey. We say to ourselves, "If ever there were a group of people who ought to be grateful and excited about a new challenge, it would be the Israelites." They were also fearful about what lay ahead. I remember once in college commenting to a friend about the stupidity of these people for not believing God. He reminded me that they were a picture of me and you.

The Israelites remind us of the danger of having a short memory. Only a month and a half after leaving Egypt, they begin to grumble because they don't have any meat to eat. God graciously provided quail. It ought to be self-evident that God would not bring His people out into the wilderness only to watch them be destroyed. Now, the Israelites come to a place where there is no water to drink. Immediately, instead of trusting God, praying for His provision, and rejoicing in their confidence of His provision, they begin to grumble against Moses.

Remind you of anyone you know?

The Israelites remind us of people who represent those whom God has delivered from bondage. Yet they fail to trust Him for daily provision and strength for divine purpose. Their discontent manifested itself in quarreling with Moses, the one who represented God's leadership with His people. In grumbling against God's anointed leader, they, in effect, were grumbling against God Himself.

Moses finds himself at his wit's end and cries out to God for some release from this desperate situation. He is instructed to take the same staff with which he struck the Nile River and strike the rock. When Moses struck the rock, water came gushing out and hundreds of thousands of the Israelite people had water to drink.

What do you do when God leads you to a place where there is no water? You trust Him knowing that in His purpose and will, He says, "I will not abandon you. I will provide for your every need. (Mark A. Johnson)

Lent 4 (A)

Sunday, March 14, 1999