I’m Thirsty!

February 6

I’m Thirsty!

Traveling with other people can be a lot of fun.  There are shared experiences, creating new memories, and deepening relationships.

Traveling with other people can also be quite the challenge.  It seems everyone has a different tolerance for the number of hours in the car, the distance between bathroom breaks, and the need to eat or drink something.

Children often get the bad rap with regard to their impatience while traveling.  However, I have also noticed that more than a few adults can be quite impatient, too.

One of the first comments from the other seat (back seat, passenger seat, etc.) is, “I’m thirsty!”  It does not matter when the last stop for a beverage was made; someone always seems to miss the opportunity!

The Israelite people were no different.  Moses had led God’s people out of Egypt.  It was a place of no hope, great oppression, and little faith in the Lord God.  The Israelites had been slaves in that awful place for over 400 years.

 Moses leads them out of slavery, through the parted waters of the Red Sea, and to freedom from oppression on the other side.  Moses leads the Israelites on a journey that will take them to the Promised Land.

The Lord God’s miraculous delivery of the Israelite people from oppression and slavery as well as through the Red Sea leaves the Israelite people filled with optimism, hope, and renewed faith in the Lord God’s provision for their needs.

However, it is only three days later that the Israelite people are complaining to Moses and to the Lord God.  Their complaint is no different than a young child riding in the car; “I’m thirsty!”  We hear their complaint in the book of Exodus.

In Exodus 15:22-27 we hear; “Then Moses ordered Israel to set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur.  They went three days in the wilderness and found no water.  When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter.  That is why it was called Marah.  And the people complained against Moses, saying, ‘What shall we drink?’  He cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood; he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.”

Three days earlier, the Lord God had done one miracle after another.  Three days earlier, the Lord God had delivered them from 400 years of slavery.  Three days earlier, the Lord God had parted the waters of the Red Sea so they could escape oppression, violence, and certain death by the hands of the Egyptian army. 

It was just three days after the Lord God had provided for the Israelite people in so many different ways that they grumble and gripe and complain that they are thirsty.  The Israelite people find it difficult to believe the Lord God can or will provide for their needs. 

Most of us are not any different.  The Lord God has done great things for us and with us.  And yet, we find ourselves moaning and groaning as well as complaining and criticizing.  Our bellyaching is evidence of our small faith in God’s ability or desire to provide for us.

The answer to our complaining and criticizing is found in the next few verses of Exodus 15. 

In Exodus 15:26-27 we hear; “There the Lord made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he put them to the test.  He said, ‘If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in his sight, and give heed to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians, for I am the Lord who heals you.’  Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there by the water.”

The Lord God tells the Israelite people to do three things; they are to listen carefully to the voice of the Lord God, live a God-honoring life, and obey the Lord God’s Word.  The Lord God knows the proper response to our complaints and criticisms as well as to our small faith and constant pessimism is to focus upon and live according to the Word of God.

+We hear the voice of the Lord God when we engage in prayer, observe silence, and listen carefully for the Word of God.  These three practices require both discipline and commitment.

+We hear the voice of the Lord God when we do whatever we can to live a God-honoring life.  Another way to say the same thing is; we hear the voice of God when we live a life of holiness.  Putting our faith into action with our words, our hands, and our feet creates an opportunity for us to hear the voice of Jesus.

+We hear the voice of the Lord God when we read the Bible with an open mind and an open heart.  When we read the Scripture, we learn what God wants us to be and to do so we can obey the Lord God.

“I don’t have enough!” is at the heart of most of our complaints and criticisms.  Complaint and criticism are evidence of my fear there is not enough for me. 

The deeper our fear, the more likely our faith that the Lord God can and will provide often grows small in the midst of circumstances and relationships that are not quite to our liking.  And yet, the Lord God calls us to trust Him for all things.

In II Corinthians 9:8 the Apostle Paul writes; “And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.”

God gives the Israelite people sweet water at a place known to have bitter water; i.e., Marah.  When their thirst is satisfied, the Lord God leads the people to an oasis named Elim.  Elim was a place of 12 fresh water springs and seventy palm trees.  God provided an over-abundance of water as well as shade!

The Lord God provided far more abundantly than they asked, than they prayed, than they dreamed possible.  And, the Lord God will do the same for you and me.

When we pray while seeking God’s voice, when we live a life of holiness, and when we seek God’s Word when we read the Bible, the Lord will grow our faith deeper and deeper so we can trust He will provide what we cannot provide for ourselves.

I invite you to reflect on these questions each day for the next seven days.

+Where do I need the Lord to provide for me?

+Of what I am so afraid that I am finding it is easier to complain and criticize than to trust the Lord will provide what I need today? 

When we see God’s abundant and often times miraculous provision, our hearts will fill with praise and peace as well as with joy and delight.  We will find ourselves taking delight in the Lord God for His gifts, His generosity, and His goodness.

Take Delight In The Lord!

Doug