Exodus 17

Howdy and happy Sunday! Lately I’ve been reading through Exodus. Though this is an Old Testament book, there are so many good lessons within each chapter. Every day, I find myself taking away an applicable nugget of wisdom. I could try to recount them all on here, but I highly recommend going and reading the book yourself. That’s when you’ll get the most out of it anyways. Chapter 17 really stuck out me to me this week. Specifically, verses 1-4.

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.”

Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?”

But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”

Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”

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Just like the Israelites in this text, we tend to forget what God has brought us through in our past. 

When we are in a new situation, we often forget how bad the previous situation was, and so we grumble to God. 

This is not good because, by getting caught up in the uncomfortability of our circumstances, we may miss what God is trying to teach us today. 

It is so important to learn the lesson of today instead of coveting the past,or worrying about the future. 

Here, in Exodus 17, the Israelites were brought to a place without water. At the first sign of difficulty, they began to complain to Moses. 

They quickly forgot all the miraculous signs they had seen God do in the past.

They forgot that the Lord split the Red Sea in half, allowed them to walk through, and then caused their enemies to drown in it (Exodus 14).

Later verses reveal that God had a solution all along- Moses would use his staff to bring water forth from a rock. 

God split the Red Sea in half. So, do we really think Him giving us the right job, friends, leadership roles, relationship, etc. is too difficult?

Just because the answer to your prayer isn’t visible yet doesn’t mean that it’s not possible. 

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A couple days ago, my sister was encouraging me regarding a situation I was nervous about. She said. “You aren’t powerful enough to mess this up.” 

And that’s true. God is so powerful, and He is in complete control. We’ve got to start giving Him more credit. 

Maybe your life feels chaotic right now. But God can cut through your chaos and lead you on dry ground, just like He did for the Israelites when He parted the Red Sea. And nothing you do on your end can stop Him.

This week, when your tempted to become disheartened at the first sign of difficulty, remember: 

• the God you serve- the one that split the Red Sea in half. 

• You aren’t powerful enough to mess God's plan up.

• You can grow in chaos. 

With love, 

Bai ❤️