Are you striking where you need to speak?
Posted on Jul 16, 2012 by Amy
IF THEN MOVEMENT was just at the NACC (North American Christian Convention). A lot of fun was had their and we had the great opportunity to meet so many wonderful people! (Check back soon for pictures from our time at the NACC.) One element that was a bit less exciting was the 'traveling with toddlers'. Every day I had a choice: camp out in the hotel room for a few hours while the kids nap or let them stay up and later witness the tantrums and rambunctious runs down the hallways of the NACC. Yes, I had THOSE kids. One good thing about choosing to lock myself in the hotel room with them so they can nap was that I had a lot of time to read the Bible and type up blogs. One of the things I chose to catch up reading was the final chapters of the book of Numbers. (See, I had a lot of time.) While finishing the book of Numbers, I found myself having more questions than answers.
As I continued my reading, my questions were answered:
- In Exodus 17, The Israelites are complaining of thirst and stuck in the desert. God directs Moses to strike a nearby rock for water to come out. Moses obeys this seemingly silly command and God follows through by sending water flowing from the rock.
- We read almost this exact same story years later(recorded in Numbers 20). The Israelites find themselves once again complaining of thirst and stuck in a dry desert. This time God tells Moses to speak to the rock and water would come pouring out but Moses strikes the rock instead. Why? Why would Moses strike the rock and not speak to it? And why is it a big deal?
- Moses chose to do what "worked" instead of what God called him to do. Moses trusted Gods method over God's call. Do you ever find yourself doing more based upon great results from the past? Do you fully trust God and what he may be calling you to do? Is God calling you to "speak" into where you (or where you would rather) "strike"? When we have more faith in procedures of the past than callings for the present, we too may be keeping ourselves from experiencing God's promises/promised land for our lives.
God's response to Moses' lack of trust: 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 [promised land]." Numbers 20:12 My additional thoughts: Speaking to a rock may have seemed incredibly embarrassing to Moses. Maybe striking the rock seemed less "amateur". Maybe it made him feel as if he had more of a part to play in God's miracle. I can relate. God often calls us to do or even be what the world deems silly (1 Corinthians 1:27). Let's be a people who would rather look silly in the eyes of men than lose our place in God's promises for this life. Let's be a people who live by faith and not by sight, statistical results, or salary!
To check out more from this author and get part II of this post visit traurigsintraining.com
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