In Exodus 17 the Children of Israel are led by The Lord to leave the Wilderness of Sin and to move to another area. The Israelites obey only to find that in doing so they come to a place where there is no water. The people complain to Moses, they accuse God of having evil motives, Moses goes to The Lord and God instructs Moses to strike the rock which is on Mount Horeb; water comes forth from the Rock.
Of course we know the outcome of the story and it is easy to criticize the Israelites for their complaining nature. But think of the simple details of this story, see them through the eyes of the Israelites.
- God speaks to them about going to the wilderness (Vs2)
- The Children of Israel obeyed
- The Children of Israel ended up with no water
Many Christians feel that obedience to God is all that is necessary for our situations to get better, and then there are the non-Christians who feel that following and obeying God only makes life worse. In looking at a small snapshot of experience it can seem like the non-Christians are correct. Life getting worse when one becomes a Christian is only true when one does not look upon the complete picture of what God is doing. (Read all of Exodus Ch 17 to see how God is actually working.)
Grumbling and complaining, is an indication that we are seeing things from our own perspective instead of through God’s.
Lord Jesus, You never cease working. Forgive us for not trusting in You.
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