A New Thing

A couple of weeks ago I wrote this post: Where Does Your Hope Lie? In this post I talked about how we tend to place our hope in a certain outcome, which we believe would be best for us in whatever difficulty we are walking through. And instead, we should be placing our hope in Jesus.

The past couple of days I have been thinking about Moses in the desert, particularly in regards to aiding the Israelites with drinking water. In Exodus 17 the Israelites were upset because they wanted water to drink. As was often the case, they complained to Moses. But Moses was in the middle. He wasn’t God. He couldn’t miraculously make water appear. However, Moses knew that God was the one to turn to. So Moses asked God for help.

“The Lord answered Moses, ‘Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.’ So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.” (v5-6 NIV)

I love that Moses knew to turn to God for help. We see this throughout the Israelites journey in the desert. He knew he couldn’t fix things on his own. God was their source, their provider, and their protector. May we remember that too, with whatever we are facing. Too often we try to fix things on our own. We use our own resources and logic to do what we think is best. But that can get us in trouble. When we learn to seek God first, He will have a perfect plan to overcome our obstacles.

There is a similar scene in the desert that occurred nearly forty years later. In Numbers 20 the Israelites again complained about lack of water to drink.

We might think that the Israelites were justified in this, because water is essential. While it’s true that water is a necessity, the issue that we see so much with the Israelites is that they were quick to gripe and slow to trust God.

I pray you and I can learn from their mistakes. When we are facing a problem in our own lives, let us be quick to trust God with the situation, and slow to complain about it.

“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.’” (v7-8 NIV)

“[Moses] 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.” (v10-11 NIV)

Things went differently in this scene. God told Moses to speak to the rock. But Moses was angry with the people and struck the rock instead. In verse 12 it says that because Moses “did not trust in [God] enough to honor [Him] as holy in the sight of the Israelites,” Moses doesn’t get to lead the people into the promised land.

That is tough to swallow, even for us reading this story thousands of years later. However, it does show us the importance of obeying God and trusting Him. Yes the people were still provided with water, but Moses missed out on a big blessing.

There are some verses in the book of Isaiah that come to mind when I read these two scenes:

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.“ – Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV

I love that these words start off with God’s instructions to “forget the former things.” With the story of Moses, he remembered the way God brought water before. And while it was good to remember that miracle, he held onto the method of the miracle too tightly.

We too tend to do this. If God provided for us before in a certain way, we will be expecting a breakthrough to come that same way again. But God says to forget the former things and do not dwell on the past.

In the next verse God says He is doing a new thing. The original Hebrew word used here can be defined as a “fresh, new thing.” God might want to do something in our lives that’s never been done before. God might want to do something brand new. Unfortunately, I believe we often put God in a box with our limited mindset. However, I pray we can remember that there is nothing too hard for God. He can do the impossible. And He can do things we never dreamed of.

I love the words found in Numbers 11 when God brought quail for the Israelites. Moses didn’t understand how God would provide the people with meat to eat. In verse 23 NIV, God answered Moses, “Is the LORD’s arm too short?” Other translations say “Has my arm lost its power?” (NLT), “Has the LORD’s arm been shortened” (NKJV), and “Is the LORD’S hand (ability, power) limited (short, inadequate)?” (AMP)

What an incredible reminder that nothing is too difficult for God! Whatever you are walking through in your own life, remember that He is doing a new thing. He can make a way in the wilderness. He can provide streams in the desert. There is power in His arm to bring you everything you need.

Thank you for reading! God bless!

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