5/18/08 "Getting Away to Hear God"

[D.Lang]

S Exodus 17:5 The Lord answered Moses, "Walk on ahead of the people.
Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the
staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.


O Moses was leading the Israelites into the desert, away from Egypt
and towards the promised land. No one told them exactly what they
would face upon the journey, only that there would be known obstacles
and tough times along the way. They were suppose to obey God and do
what was commanded of them, but they struggled with this task from the
very beginning. They were thirsty and complained mightily to Moses,
enough so that Moses felt that even his life was in danger. Moses
expressed his anger to them and asked them how they dare test God in
their trials; most certainly because of the miracles, one after
another that God had done to free them from captivity. God called him
to go on ahead of his people and bring Elders with him. It was obvious
that the Lord was preparing to do something and He wanted Moses’
complete attention and time away from the others.


A Life never quite flows the way we wish it would go. I get caught
up in the daily chaos just as easy as the next guy, and Moses just
didn’t have that kind of patience with his people, especially all that
he had to do in obedience, and that God would open the doors he did
for His people. He was never built to handle stress like that, but God
continually equipped him for the purpose at hand. Moses was on short
fuse, and he was doing his best in the situation he was given. Who
could blame him! People are just sometimes hard to figure out, and He
told God…”I just don’t know what to do.” God drew him out to have some
one on one, just as we all need from time to time. He asks us to go
out ahead of people to hear what He has to say to us and lend us
direction. When I get a chance to go on a retreat or a conference, I
go with anticipation that I get to spend quality time with the Lord
hearing His word to me and knowing that He is preparing me for the
next difficult task at hand.

P Thanks be to You Lord for allowing us the time to get refreshed
with vision and direction for our mission. Sometimes we just get
overwhelmed and need to hear directly from You. Thank You for speaking
to me in Your perfect timing. You are always there. Amen