WATER WATER EVERYWHERE BUT NOT A DROP TO SPARE
I said “Lord I want to go camping!!!” – well, I didn’t mean in my own house, LOL. We are using bottled water because the hurricane rains brought overflow and contamination to our river water source – yes I could boil water but I bought water for convenience (and for only the cost of one less Starbucks drink, now that my daughter is away at college), I got enough for 3 households for this duration of a water emergency, probably 2 more days. $6 each, yeah I will take it. We had TOO MUCH water in near 10 inches of rain – and now we don’t have enough clean water from the spigots. I am glad the Lord is not like that – He gives us enough and really good water in HIM from HIM. He is up, down and all around the source of our life. Jesus is the Living Water – He wants us to “lap Him up” – and never thirst for another source.
Jesus said: “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.) John 4:37-39
He may have come to us in a flood of overwhelming proportions, but He never gives watered down advice. The bible is written down so that it can not be watered down, that’s important, for God wants us to pay attention, learn, know. DO what He says and not more or less. He wants to get it across in VERBAL fashion. He wants to hear scripture (which is Himself) read, sent out and returned up to Himself.
His Word is ENOUGH – but we sometimes forget that – we crave action – we force action. Yes, action FROM His calling is important (think Prophet Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.)
Moses, our friend Moses, is walking his/His people towards the Promised Land, but they are by nature complainers (us too) and had nothing to drink. Moses inquired and got a visit from God and an opportunity to help his/HIS people by going to an appointed rock and SPEAKING so that life-giving water would flow out of the rock. His WORD (God’s Word give to Moses to speak) to the rock was enough – but what did Moses do? Moses HIT the rock – He went TOO FAR – He applied an action to the Lord’s Words that did not need to be added. AND WORSE, Moses added the actions in anger not in thankfulness… ***The Lord told Moses and Aaron that they would NOT enter the Promised Land because of that ANGER.*** WOW !!! – Miriam had already passed and Aaron then passed away before going into the Promised Land.
Moses could not cross into the Promised Land (but he was taken care of fine as the Lord’s faithful servant) … So, Let us LISTEN to the Lord and do ONLY what He says and not apply extra force or anger to His Word. Be WALKING HUMBLY (a very important section of Micah 6:8).
I am THANKFUL for these challenges (which are really not bad and nothing to make out worse than they are). I am THANKFUL to rock my water supply from HIM, our ROCK. I am THANKFUL for the house as others clean up their tornado and flood damage.
Let us WALK HUMBLY and also be THANKFUL to listen to the flow – whether a trickle whisper or flood – LISTEN to His Word.
Amen
Water From the Rock – Numbers 20:1-13
In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried. Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. They quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord! Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness, that we and our livestock should die here? Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!”
Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. The Lord said to Moses, “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”
So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence, just as he commanded him. He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.
But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.” These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the Lord and where he was proved holy among them.
Debbie Upper 