“Then Moses made Israel 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….And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, ‘What shall we drink?’” Exodus 15:22, 24
February 2, 2024
After only a few days in the wilderness, with water skins empty, complaint spread among the two million Jews. The threat of dehydration clouded Israel’s memory of the miracles God had performed among them in Egypt and their grand escape from Pharaoh’s army. Forgetting the water miracle of all water miracles, the parting of the Red Sea. God’s patience with His covenant people is striking. The truth lodged in all this is that the natural heart is one of ingratitude. We must not overestimate ourselves. Too often we indulge in complaint, take it out on others, and forget that God rules in infinite wisdom over all our circumstances. Makes us wonder, am I afflicted with a what-has-God-done-for-me attitude. It’s a spiritual virus that can spread rapidly. Children have good ears and can pick up a grumbling spirit far too quickly. It can blow a church up and turn a marriage into a nightmare. We must not allow ourselves to forget God’s grace and mercy by looking outward at our circumstances and put God on trial. God’s patience with us is not to be a license to be card-carrying grumblers.
H
“Lord, I need a lot of help in avoiding the pit of blaming you for my trials. Teach me what it means to walk by faith through the deserts of life.”