In the face of disappointment

Hello everyone,

How are you doing? I hope well and bubbling in the Lord. What do you do when your expectations are not met? When you are disappointed? Exodus 15 shows us a scenario where the children of Israel had left the promised land with much jubilation, after the Lord had saved them from the hands of Pharaoh. And then, they were faced with something totally unexpected – no water:

“Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine and led all the women as they played their tambourines and danced. And Miriam sang this song: “Sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously; He has hurled both horse and rider into the sea.” Then Moses led the people of Israel away from the Red Sea, and they moved out into the desert of Shur. They traveled in this desert for three days without finding any water. When they came to the oasis of Marah, the water was too bitter to drink. So they called the place Marah (which means “bitter”). Then the people complained and turned against Moses. “What are we going to drink?” they demanded. So Moses cried out to the Lord for help, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. Moses threw it into the water, and this made the water good to drink. It was there at Marah that the Lord set before them the following decree as a standard to test their faithfulness to Him. He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, obeying His commands and keeping all His decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you.” After leaving Marah, the Israelites traveled on to the oasis of Elim, where they found twelve springs and seventy palm trees. They camped there beside the water.” (Exodus 15v20-27, New Living Translation).

It is interesting that it was at Marah, the place of bitter waters that the Lord set a standard to test their faithfulness to Him. It is easy to praise the Lord and call Him your strength and shield, but what happens when you are faced with adversity? Very telling are the reactions of the children of Israel versus Moses. Moses had a relationship with God and cried out to Him for help, while the children of Israel murmured. Beloved, in the midst of disappointments, when our expectations seem to be let down, let us cry out to God, not murmur. All through scripture, we see how God has promised to help us and to be there for us (see 2 Chronicles 16:9; Psalm 46v1; Hebrews 13v5).

Prayer

Father, we thank You for Your Word. Father, have mercy on us for anyway that we have grumbled or complained. Forgive us o Lord. Beloved, are you disappointed over something? Cry out to the Lord who performs that which is appointed for you (Psalm 57v2). Talk it over with Him and rest in Him.