A few Sundays ago, the pastor preached a sermon using Numbers 20:2-12 for a fantastic message about frustration and the downfall of acting out in our frustrations. A simple message on faithfulness to the work and calling of the Lord, though, that also permeates the text is what has stuck with me for these weeks following the message. And right now, what I need most are constant reminders of the Truth about remaining faithful to the work and calling of the Lord. Let me show you what I found:
"Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. They quarrelled 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 desert that we and our livestock should die here? Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grains or figs, grapevines, or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!"
It has been the better part of 40 years. And the people are still needy and still complaining and still blaming their circumstances, their unhappiness, and their dissatisfaction on their leader. On the person who risked it all to help them. To deliver them from slavery in obedience to the Lord. That person...again...they are laying upon the blame and the burden of all of their unhappiness. I was reading this part of the passage in church silently to give myself the context of what we were studying and it struck such a chord with my own experiences. It has only been the better part of 1 year in my camp (nothing in comparison to Moses), but I could feel an ounce of Moses' pain. It is a pain that so frequently accompainies leadership in many different settings. Like Moses was for the Israelites, our intentions (at their best and purest state) have been to come and help, love, and care for the youth in our home. Yet, because of the very nature of what we do, we very often become the brunt of their unhappiness. The ones keeping them from family. The ones chaining them from a life of normalcy. The ones ruining their life. And, I think to myself, all I was trying to do was be faithful to God. I have wondered why Moses is not more of a hero in the church. Probably because this exact passage and his ending downfull. We overlook his faithfulness for so many years despite intense difficulty and we remember why he never made it to Canaan.
"Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the Tent of Meetings and feel 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 the rock before their eyes and it will pour out water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink."
So God provides an answer...He promises to work through Moses to provide for the people if he will do exactly what he says. He makes it simple. I need to remember this is God's promise to me each and every day. Go in faithfulness, Betsy, and do as I have asked. And I will provide the water they need to drink. I will make something out of nothing. I will perform a miracle for them. And I will use your faithfulness to accomplish this. Be faithful to me.
"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 Moses was already frustrated. He had had enough. He was mad. And I understand why. These ungrateful people. He has done nothing but try to help them. He has done nothing but give the last few decades of his life and dedicate it to their freedom and prosperity. And so, with the instruments of the Lord but in the footsteps of his own heart, he went before the people. And he BOMBED. God said speak, he whacked the thing twice in his frustration. God said, show them my power through your limited power. He acted out of anger and showed only his own strength. The people were still provided for but Moses had left faithfulness behind to indulge his own frustration. I am tempted this way so many times. I am tempted to embrace my hourly frustrations and subsequent anger and act in my own will...to protect myself, to stand up for myself, to justify all that has gone wrong. But this passage has been echoing in my head these last few weeks because this ONE moment of action from the frustration that had been building in Moses for who knows how long changed the rest of the story completely. It even changed his legacy. No, he is not known as the hero that David is or the saint that we see Paul as. He is a man who ended it all with failure. We remember the failure even when we talk about the victories that came beforehand. And it was ONE moment when he lacked faithfulness despite the faithfulness it had taken to lead God's people for decade after decade. One moment of frustration changed it all. This has spoken very clearly to me about the importance of faithfulness in the little moments and every single day kind of way. It has spoken to me about how crucial it is to die to self every day and not allow personal frustrations to lead to the kind of sin that will change the story forever. Remaining faithful changes the story for the better. Even when it is so incredibly difficult that you can't see the other side.
"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 that I have given them."
God had much to give to the Israelites. And He did. However, Moses lost the opportunity to be an agent of that blessing because he did not trust God enough. He did not show God to be holy despite the troubled circumstances that surrounded him. He did not make much of God before the people...He instead centered it on himself. And he lost the opportunity to be written into the rest of the story. My deepest desire is to be a part of bringing the "community" I work with into the "land" God has for them, but I come so close to risking my part in that every day when I battle putting myself and my personal feelings, frustrations, and struggles on the throne upon which only God belongs.
Numbers 20:2-12
"Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. They quarrelled 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 desert that we and our livestock should die here? Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grains or figs, grapevines, or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!"
It has been the better part of 40 years. And the people are still needy and still complaining and still blaming their circumstances, their unhappiness, and their dissatisfaction on their leader. On the person who risked it all to help them. To deliver them from slavery in obedience to the Lord. That person...again...they are laying upon the blame and the burden of all of their unhappiness. I was reading this part of the passage in church silently to give myself the context of what we were studying and it struck such a chord with my own experiences. It has only been the better part of 1 year in my camp (nothing in comparison to Moses), but I could feel an ounce of Moses' pain. It is a pain that so frequently accompainies leadership in many different settings. Like Moses was for the Israelites, our intentions (at their best and purest state) have been to come and help, love, and care for the youth in our home. Yet, because of the very nature of what we do, we very often become the brunt of their unhappiness. The ones keeping them from family. The ones chaining them from a life of normalcy. The ones ruining their life. And, I think to myself, all I was trying to do was be faithful to God. I have wondered why Moses is not more of a hero in the church. Probably because this exact passage and his ending downfull. We overlook his faithfulness for so many years despite intense difficulty and we remember why he never made it to Canaan.
"Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the Tent of Meetings and feel 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 the rock before their eyes and it will pour out water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink."
So God provides an answer...He promises to work through Moses to provide for the people if he will do exactly what he says. He makes it simple. I need to remember this is God's promise to me each and every day. Go in faithfulness, Betsy, and do as I have asked. And I will provide the water they need to drink. I will make something out of nothing. I will perform a miracle for them. And I will use your faithfulness to accomplish this. Be faithful to me.
"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 Moses was already frustrated. He had had enough. He was mad. And I understand why. These ungrateful people. He has done nothing but try to help them. He has done nothing but give the last few decades of his life and dedicate it to their freedom and prosperity. And so, with the instruments of the Lord but in the footsteps of his own heart, he went before the people. And he BOMBED. God said speak, he whacked the thing twice in his frustration. God said, show them my power through your limited power. He acted out of anger and showed only his own strength. The people were still provided for but Moses had left faithfulness behind to indulge his own frustration. I am tempted this way so many times. I am tempted to embrace my hourly frustrations and subsequent anger and act in my own will...to protect myself, to stand up for myself, to justify all that has gone wrong. But this passage has been echoing in my head these last few weeks because this ONE moment of action from the frustration that had been building in Moses for who knows how long changed the rest of the story completely. It even changed his legacy. No, he is not known as the hero that David is or the saint that we see Paul as. He is a man who ended it all with failure. We remember the failure even when we talk about the victories that came beforehand. And it was ONE moment when he lacked faithfulness despite the faithfulness it had taken to lead God's people for decade after decade. One moment of frustration changed it all. This has spoken very clearly to me about the importance of faithfulness in the little moments and every single day kind of way. It has spoken to me about how crucial it is to die to self every day and not allow personal frustrations to lead to the kind of sin that will change the story forever. Remaining faithful changes the story for the better. Even when it is so incredibly difficult that you can't see the other side.
"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 that I have given them."
God had much to give to the Israelites. And He did. However, Moses lost the opportunity to be an agent of that blessing because he did not trust God enough. He did not show God to be holy despite the troubled circumstances that surrounded him. He did not make much of God before the people...He instead centered it on himself. And he lost the opportunity to be written into the rest of the story. My deepest desire is to be a part of bringing the "community" I work with into the "land" God has for them, but I come so close to risking my part in that every day when I battle putting myself and my personal feelings, frustrations, and struggles on the throne upon which only God belongs.
Numbers 20:2-12
So good to remember these truths and a refresher of perspective.
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