The Promised Land of Peace

“The Lord says, “Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah, as they did at Massah in the wilderness. For there your ancestors tested and tried my patience, even though they saw everything I did. For forty years I was angry with them, and I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts turn away from me. They refuse to do what I tell them.’ So in my anger I took an oath: ‘They will never enter my place of rest.’”” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭95:8-11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In Exodus 17:1-7 we read the story of the children of Israel complaining to Moses about their thirst. The whole nation of Israel traveled through the wilderness on their Exodus from Egypt. The place they were camping was in the area of Sin (Zin in some translations). The name Sin was related to Sinai and should not be confused with the English word we call sin. There, the whole camp began to grumble because of their fierce thirst. God instructed Moses to gather some of the elders (leaders) at the rock Horeb (also called Sinai) and strike the rock with his staff. Water came gushing out as they looked on. Moses then named the place Massah (meaning "test") and Meribah (meaning "argue"). The people of Israel had made the accusation "Is the LORD (Yahweh) here with us or not?" (see Exodus 17:7). Have you ever been in a place in your life when you were desperate and you questioned whether God was there with you or not? Have you ever grumbled and complained about the circumstances of your life? Most of us have had those moments. We see God's supernatural deliverance from our own Egypt and we come to a place of adversity that challenges our faith once again. We, so quickly, forget the previous acts of the Almighty and we fixate on the current difficulty. Our attitude becomes negative and we tend to grumble, complain, and question whether or not God is with us. We, so easily, lose our memory of His faithfulness. We must be constantly reminded of God's unfailing awareness and His faithful sustenance. Something we need to keep in mind is this: Our grumbling and complaining only keep us wandering around in the wilderness of circumstances. If we want to enter the promised land of God's peace we must stop the grumbling and complaining and learn to trust Him in every situation. This is the only way to find the rest we so long for. Are you weary today? Leave the grumbling and complaining wilderness of Satan and enter the rest of the Lord Jesus Christ. Only in Him can we find the rest we so long for. “Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭11:28‬ ‭NLT‬‬