So they grumbled against Moses. Give us water to drink they said. Moses answered them. Why do you grumble against me? Why do you put the Lord to the test? But tormented by thirst, the people complained against Moses. Why did you bring us out of Egypt? they said. Was it so that I should die of thirst, my children too, and my cattle? Moses appealed to the Lord.
How am I to deal with this people? he said. A little more and they will stone me!
Ex 17, 2-4
After camping in a place without water, the Israelites complained, wondering why Moses had led them out of Egypt in the first place. From the hardships of the desert, slavery wasn’t looking so bad. At least slavery as they were remembering it at the moment.
Sometimes, having made choices that lead us to a particular place or situation in life, we can become discouraged with where we are and question why we chose as we did. Uncomfortableness of change makes the old and familiar appealing once again, no matter how bad they really were.
In the case of the wandering Israelites, they were wondering why Moses, at the command of God, had led them to a hostile desert. Was God’s hand in their escape from Egypt or not? If so, they demanded water to drink.
When life is challenging and difficult, when it seems to test us beyond our abilities to survive, we may have the same doubts about God’s Presence with us. Our “old life,” while not perfect, is preferable to one we are not up to living.
Moses was exasperated with the people, but God did not seem to mind. Instead of anger, God responded to their cries with a miracle: With a rap of Moses’ staff, God makes water flow from a rock. The people drank, and were reassured: God walked with them after all.
In my life, I sometimes cry out time and again without seeing or feeling a response. This time of God’s silence seems interminable. Yet, I continue to cry out. I continue to expect something good to happen.
Am I foolish? Unrealistic? Perhaps. Certainly in a reasoned or logical way, my persistence at prayer seems foolish. Sometimes I feel foolish and my faith wavers.
When I read this story, I can identify with the exhausted, thirsty people. I know what trying to keep three children satisfied can be like. Mothers traipsing through the dessert with young ones would have been tired beyond endurance if their husbands pitched camp in a place with no water.
I would like to say I identify with Moses, frustrated by their lack of faith. But, I know myself too well, and this stretch of my life has at times, seemed like a desert with no watering hole.
I need to remind myself of the good that has come from struggle and pain. Like water from the rock, blessings have gushed out of difficult situations. Not always as quickly as I would like, but in the end, I survive. Sometimes I even flourish.
© 2011 Mary van Balen
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