Dear church,

The wilderness became a sanctuary of suffering. In that desolate place, God’s people would learn to put their hope in him alone. 

They would get thirsty and hungry. To whom would they turn? Only God could do these things. Forty years later, they would emerge as a people refined by trust. 

Of course, it was a difficult season, and they people frequently failed. Just keep reading. Their first failures already have emerged – on the shore of the Red Sea with the Egyptians closing in on them and now here in Exodus 15. They were thirsty. 

“And the people grumbled …”

Do you grumble? My guess is that you do, at least from time to time. Will God really take care of us? We need food and clothing and shelter. We want positive relationships. We want financial security. We want peace in our land. Where is God in this? 

We might grumble about these and a million other things. In a sense, we still are in the wilderness as God’s children, waiting for our full entrance into the Promised Land. And if this is the case, we are still in a season of training. This is where we learn. The desert wind might kick dust in our eyes. Get used to it. 

God told Moses to throw a tree – a log – into the water and it would become good to drink. Think here about the cross, or tree, of Christ.

Yes, God will provide for his children, for you and for me. Let’s learn to trust him. And let’s give up our grumbling.

Chris