Wednesday, March 8, 2023

The Rock




I woke up this morning with an image in my mind and a message. However, as it typically goes here lately, I don't have the full message yet so we shall see where this goes.
The image I saw was of the Israelites in the desert and Moses was where God commanded Him to strike the rock to get water. This was the first time Moses had struck the rock and him and the leaders of the different tribes were all standing around the rock in awe of this miracle. I can see them in my mind standing there dumbfounded. They were just standing there watching water come out, no words just baffled over the whole thing. 
God talked to Moses only and he alone heard God's voice until they all heard the thunder later at the mountain, but in this case, they were all complaining of being thirsty and Moses just stopped, acted like he heard something then went over to a rock and hit it with the staff he had. Now the majority of the people, the millions, were not following the leaders and Moses closely. For millions of people to go anywhere together, they were scattered in groups and clusters and spread out for miles. The leaders were at the front of the line. So, when Moses struck the rock, only a handful saw the actual miracle and in my vision, I saw only six or so men standing there watching the water come out. 
By the time all of the millions of people came to get water, the miracle wasn't much of a miracle to them. Have you ever been told of some miraculous thing happening by someone else. In that scenario, the story has been retold so many times that it has been changed, manipulated and the excitement of the first witness is gone and often times replaced with doubt and skepticism.
Take the resent Asbury revival in KY. If you didn't go there and experience it for yourself, you don't have a clue what went on there. You only hear stories from those that have. You may here a ton of good stories but they may also be negative ones as well. As we tend to focus on things we can see and touch, when we hear of thing intangible that only the receiver can be a witness to, doubt usually wins over. The negative stories win out and doubt controls every story out of that event.
Similarly, in the case of Moses and the rock, only a handful of witnesses saw it happen. Undoubtedly, those few witnesses passed along their excitement to the crowds but as millions of people came for water, the leaders by now would have scattered to a place to camp or settle for the night as the rest came for water. As they came, the truth became muddled and doubt set in.
I can see it now, "It's about time I got my turn, my family is thirsting to death."
"Yeah mine too. My tongue is so dry."
"I don't know how they found this spring but I am thankful they did. I've not seen water for days."
"Me either. This God everyone has been talking about, I thought He was leading us out here to die as a cruel joke."
"I heard rumors that this water was provided by this God."
"Moses was just lucky he found this, the crowds were almost ready to kill him and go back to Egypt. At least there was water and food there."
"Very true, very true. They say, it was a miracle. That he stuck this rock and water came out of it. What do you think?"
"A bunch of lies. He's trying to get us to keep following him to this so called promise land. I think we left Egypt to follow a mad man." 

See the miracle of God, over time and through so many people can become muddled and manipulated. Most will have doubt unless the miracle happens to them. 
However, it's not the miracle we need to worry about anyway, it's the one who provided the miracle, God, that we really need to focus on. In other recent posts, I have mentioned several times that staying singled eyed, only following God's truth and keeping your heart and mind focused on Him is the most important thing we can do.
Simon Peter is a great example of this very thing. When Jesus approached the boat, Simon was the only one who jumped out and walked on water. The reason He walked on water is because Simon was focused on Jesus. He wasn't worried about the water, the waves or the depth. Instead he was laser focused on Jesus. When he lost his focus though, Simon fell through the water. It was his lack of focus and his sudden realization of his situation. Doubt creeped in as he knew in his mind that walking on water was impossible, yet nothing is impossible with Christ. 
Same scenario with the Jews in the desert. They lost focus and assumed the worst because they focused on their situation instead of being focused on God. 
We can hear everyday how God does small miracles around us and how great His love is. We can also hear the critics as well who discount those miracles as coincidence or luck. It all depends on us, the receiver of those two sides. If we trust and have faith, we see and hear God working all around us but if we are full of doubt and fear we see nothing but a fanciful story. 
If we lose our focus, we can be like the Israelites who doubted and died. If we doubt, our soul dies. It gets pulled away and darkened by the enemies lies. We cannot afford to put all our trust in media, other Christians, stories or even preachers. Our hope and trust should only lie in God and His truth. 
Times are going to get worse according to the Bible. As Jesus puts it, we are only in the birth pains and the kingdom of God is coming. However, the darkness hates the light and it will do everything in its power to extinguish the light. So, I believe we are in for a very rough ride even though the ride has been rough already. We haven't the worst part of the end yet. However, and again, if we we only have a heart for Him and a single mind towards Him, we will prevail because He will lead us through the desert just like He did the Israelites. Cloud by day and fire at night, food from heaven, shoes and clothes not worn out. 
These are symbols of what we will go through in this end time. Cloud by day, keeping us sheltered; fire at night, keeping us warm in the cold of night; feeding us heavenly bread for our souls to feed upon; our shoes being our walk with God not growing old or worn out; our clothes not wearing out as we are clothed in Jesus' righteousness; all these things will come to those who are diligently seeking God.

To God be the Glory! 


















 

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