April 12, 2023

OBEDIENCE TOWARDS GOD

TODAY’’S SCRIPTURE

The Lord said to Moses, “Walk out in front of the people. Take your staff, the one you used when you struck the water of the Nile, and call some of the elders of Israel to join you. I will stand before you on the rock at Mount Sinai. Strike the rock, and water will come gushing out. Then the people will be able to drink.” So Moses struck the rock as he was told, and water gushed out as the elders looked on.

Exodus 17:5-6 NLT

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TODAY’S THOUGHT

It is interesting how quickly the people forget the miracles of God. They witnessed the 10 plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, the drowning of Pharaoh, and manna from heaven every day but as soon as they run low on water they complain to Moses. It seems that no one asked Moses to pray for the provision of water, they just complained. Moses appears to get frustrated with the people because he asked God, “What am I going to do with these people?” God’s mercy is huge. I believe He had a plan all along. God instructs Moses to take some of the elders and go strike a rock and water will gush out. Moses obeys God and water comes out of a rock. I believe God always has a plan for our provision. He is not interested in us living in poverty and lack. His plan will require us to act. God could have brought the water out of the rock without Moses striking the rock. There was nothing supernatural about Moses using his rod to hit a rock. The supernatural was released when Moses obeyed in the natural. We often want God to work without our obedience. Moses had to gather the elders and march them all to the rock. His faith had to be strong because the only guarantee Moses had was the word from the Lord. I think there was that voice inside his head saying, “you will look like a fool if this doesn’t work.” Satan is always playing that tape for us. He wants us to imagine the failure and embarrassment. We often don’t want to take the step of obedience because the only guarantee we have is a word we have received from God. We are human. That means there will be moments when we think we have a word from God, and we act and nothing happens. In those moments the failure was not on God’s part. We obviously missed it. We should be big enough to admit we are human. The New Testament tells us that as followers of Christ we are to live by faith. That means that sometimes we will look foolish and do things that seem to make no sense. But when we act in obedience God will respond. Is there a rock in your life that needs to be struck in obedience towards God?

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TODAY’S PRAYER

Holy Spirit, I ask You today to help me live in obedience to You. I believe that You are my Provider. Help me to live in obedience so Your provision will flow through me.

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