There are times when we’re called to rise above all that appears to be real. There are times when we must press our faith into application. There are times when we must draw on invisible sources for growth. This isn’t easy. In fact, it’s impossible without supernatural power.
The Rush
Oswald Chambers said, “God does not further our spiritual life in spite of our circumstances, but in and by our circumstances.” Because circumstance so often appears to be the enemy, whether we’re flush or lean, this is a hard saying. But what it means is that I can trust God even when things look impossible. In fact, those are the moments of my life when I can “count it all joy” to suffer various hardships (James 1). God knows what He is doing with what He has made.
Consider the wetlands for a moment, and the reeds and rushes that grow there. Spurgeon pointed out that the rush is a hypocrite; it is only green when the mire in which it is planted stays wet. It is hollow inside; there is no substance to the illusion of its vitality. The rush is only a mirror of the circumstance in which it finds itself. If there’s water, it’s green and lush. If there isn’t, it fades quickly.
We are not to be like this.
And yet so often, because of “automatic” fleshy responses, we get results that we hate. Too often, we end up being like the rush—fairweather, hollow, and short-lived. It sucks to come to the realization that, after years of walking with Jesus, we still have such a long way to go sometimes. Yes, the disciple is supposed to grow and develop. But our growth and development cannot take us to heaven. Only grace can do that. And we will die still in need of it no matter how we’ve lived.
Strike the Rock
God made water come from the rock in the wilderness twice. The first event is recorded in Exodus 17, and the second is in Numbers 20. The two accounts are very different and occur in different places; the second being at Kadesh.
The first was at a place that came to be called “Meribah” and “Massah.” It was here that Moses was instructed to “strike the rock.” Meribah literally means tempted, and Massah literally means contention.
There is a reference to the Exodus event in Psalm 81.7, which says,
“You called in trouble, and I delivered you;
I answered you in the secret place of thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.”
Water is perhaps the most valuable resource in the natural life, so its spiritual significance is enormous. Without water, nothing can grow. So the tale of the reed and the mire is instructive in the same way that the story of Meribah is.
If there come times in our lives when all that we need to grow is suddenly scarce, maybe we need to make sure that we’re not leaning on sources that can dry up. Further, if we lack “water” (all that we need to thrive) in certain seasons of this life, we need to be careful not to allow our circumstances to dictate to us who we’re going to be in the place of testing. We cannot let circumstance decide for us whether or not we’re going to continue to grow.
First Things
It’s important to note that God often flips the script as He develops His people. He often creatively changes how He works, and I believe that’s because we need Him to do this in order to keep us honest. If He always worked the same way, we would fall into the error of thinking that we have Him figured out. We would try to manipulate Him into some kind of quid pro quo arrangement whereby, if we act in a certain way, we would expect to trigger His benevolent response.
But that’s not how it is. God is both unchanging and everlastingly creative.
Revelation 21.4 tells us that at some point in history, the “former things" will have “passed away.” When I read this passage, I think about the first Adam, the firstfruits offerings, the Levitical system of forgiveness through sacrifices. I think about how what is seen speaks of what is unseen. And I think about how God seems to have designed creation as a sign of things to come—that, through creation’s very corruption and entropy, eternity can be sensed. There is more, much more, waiting to be revealed.
Speak to the Rock
The second time Moses led the people into a place without water was at Kadesh (Numbers 20). The people did the exact same thing at Kadesh that they had done at Meribah: They rose up against Moses and threatened him, and they denied and abandoned the God that had led them out of bondage.
Now at Kadesh, Moses was to stand before the LORD just as he had done at Meribah. The procedure had changed, though, if subtly. God told Moses to speak to the rock, not to strike it.
Moses struck it not once but twice, forging a witness against himself for his disobedience and lack of self control.
Water to Blood
When God first called him, Moses was a little unsteady. The only thing he had was his persistent assertion that he was unfit and unqualified for the service to which God had called him. As Oswald Chambers pointed out, “What God looks on as obstinate weakness, we call strength.” In other words, God won that argument, and Moses went where he was told to go (Jonah had a similar experience, didn’t he?)
As Moses obeyed, he learned that the staff in his hand was a powerful thing when God imbued it with purpose. I suppose it would be easy to confuse a mere stick for something special when it’s the tool God chooses to use to part the Red Sea and make water turn to blood. But we must never worship the creation rather than the Creator.
Moses had used the staff to strike the water of the Nile, making it turn to blood. He had used the staff to strike the rock at Meribah, making water flow. These miracles weren’t about the staff, they weren’t about striking things, and they most certainly weren’t about Moses. They were about God, and since it is the glory of God to conceal a matter and the glory of kings to search it out (Proverbs 25.2), He has every right to reveal Himself however He wants to do it.
Moses didn’t listen properly when God flipped the script, and as a result, there were consequences. That’s a potential whole other blog post about leaders and leadership. But I think there’s a consequence for us too, because I believe God wanted to reveal something glorious about Himself in the instruction Moses failed to follow.
Not Once but Twice
I wonder if, in Numbers 20, there was a pause between the first strike and the second one. I wonder if Moses struck the rock in a rage, thinking he knew what he was up to. I wonder if he even thought he was acting in faith—after all, it takes faith to believe that water will come from a rock when you hit it with a stick.
But I wonder if, between strikes one and two, Moses had an oh, crap! moment. We’ve all had those. It’s when you realize you’re way off book, you ask yourself what have I done, and you settle down to adjust your expectations. Moses had a chance, however infinitesimal, between that first and second hit to pause and reflect and choose a different course. He could have stopped there and humbled himself by asking for forgiveness. Fact is, he went ahead with the second strike, effectively sealing his own destiny. Whether it was done in an impulsive rush or it was premeditated and calculated, he certainly disobeyed, cutting himself off from entry into the land God had promised to the children of Abraham.
He let his brothers and sisters get under his skin with their disbelief and quarreling. He allowed anger to vent fully for a moment, and it wrecked his life.
Invisible Source
When rains are scarce and the surface of the earth is dry and cracked, there remain vast reservoirs of moisture deep below what is easily seen. If a tree is mature enough to weather a severe drought, it will stretch its roots to gather from this unseen, deep source of water. Deep roots mean strong plantings, and if you find yourself in a season in which things seem to be dry, don’t fall for the lie that lean circumstance means certain death. Don’t fall to quarreling with God like Israel did at Meribah. You have a deep and invisible source for all that you need, in this life and in the next. Perhaps God is growing your roots and preparing you for something bigger than you’ve yet seen. Take heart, and don’t give up here at the edge of the fulfillment of the promise. Perhaps, in allowing bare cupboards, God is working a plan to reveal the Kingdom, if only—if only we will not turn aside when things get real.
Sometimes faithbuilding is all about the tension between what we ask for and what we receive. Sometimes we need to wait, defer, prefer others, give it away, pour it out, or simply wonder if God really even heard us. But there are also times when faithbuilding is all about fulfillment. If it were not so, we really would believe in vain. Be careful, though, not to tell God how and when He’s to do things. And if He tells you to speak to the rock, don’t tempt yourself: leave the staff in the tent.
All scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright (c) 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.