What am I going to do with these people?

Exodus 17:1-4 Contemporary English Version

1The Israelites left the desert and moved from one place to another each time the LORD ordered them to. Once they camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for them to drink. 2The people started complaining to Moses, " Give us some water!" Moses replied, " Why are you complaining to me and trying to put the LORD to the test?" 3But the people were thirsty and kept on complaining, " Moses, did you bring us out of Egypt just to let us and our families and our animals die of thirst?" 4Then Moses prayed to the LORD, " What am I going to do with these people? They are about to stone me to death!"

Poor Moses! As I read more of Exodus, I feel sorry for him. Here, he has taken on Pharaoh and brought the Israelites out of bondage and all they do is complain. Really? Would you rather be oppressed by the Egyptians, than to be out of Egypt and moving toward the Promised Land? It seems that might be the case. If I were Moses, I might even be ready to send them back to captivity.

Is this how we are with God? Are we content with our lot in life or do we complain? Is the grass greener in our neighbor's yard? Do we want to grab hold of the worldly things we released when we became His? In our humanness, I see the tendency to do just that. Does the Lord look down on us and say, " What am I going to do with these people?" I think perhaps He does, and it makes Him sad to know that at times He is not enough, when He should be. Sometimes, I can hear His voice whispering in my ear, "What does it take? Am I not all you need?"

What if He truly was enough, all the time, in everything? In this year of being better, I plan to work on relying on Him for all my needs (not just the things I think I can't do). While I will never get it all right, I can be less of a complainer. I'm sure God will appreciate it!

Taking Time..................

Recently the pastoral staff at my church has been taking the congregation Back to School. One of the earlier "classes" was reading class. Professor H encouraged us to start reading the Bible. He proposed that we use a system developed by The Navigator Group. Part of this system is journaling and I'm finding it to be a great tool in going over what I've read for the week. The Navigators have a form you can use to document the scripture you've read, plus list any thoughts, etc. that you might have on that scripture. There's also a place for prayer requests and praises. Another tip from the Professor was to write in your Bible with pencil (really liking this tip). As part of my family's accountability to reading, we are meeting with other families in a small group setting each Tuesday evening for one hour. This allows us to share insight into our reading for the week, but also to hear what the others have learned. We missed last week due to a family illness, but look forward to spending time in the Word with our friends tonight. I personally take time to do a lot of things that are far less important than reading the Bible. I plan on taking time to read..................