God Establishes a Nation through Moses
Open Your Bible
Exodus 15:22-27, Exodus 16:1-36, Exodus 17:1-7, 1 Corinthians 10:1-13, Psalm 105:40-42
BY Kaitlin Wernet
Text: Exodus 15:22-27, Exodus 16:1-36, Exodus 17:1-7, 1 Corinthians 10:1-13, Psalm 105:40-42
“EVERYBODY OUTSIDE,” I yelled, losing all of my carefully collected cool babysitter points in one fell swoop. The freckled brother and sister looked defeated, realizing their plan to convince me to let them sleep in the refrigerator doors had misfired.
We stood in the backyard with grass up to our ankles, my feet the only ones remaining still.
The girl’s pigtails twirled as she spread her arms and began spinning around and around in a circle. “Topsy turvy!” the boy squealed in delight, joining his sister until their knees buckled and hit the ground, their heads continuing to spin. They laughed at the dizzy, dark spots in their vision, and stood up to begin again. “You too!” they gestured.
I obliged, joining in for the sake of the thank-goodness-we’re-over-the-refrigerator incident. My arms, double the span of theirs, flung wide as I twirled around, my ponytail flapping in the wind. My knees buckled, and I stared into the same dizzy, dark spots. But it wasn’t very fun, and I didn’t want to do it again. Although it had been years since I’d worn pigtails and found joy in my own topsy turvy-ing, the resulting feeling felt strangely familiar. It was disorienting, unknown and scary, much like the wilderness.
I experience the same dizziness when I’m tossed by fear, pushed by doubt, and wrangled by sin, so I thrash for control. The Israelites did something similar, asking questions they hoped would domesticate the wild:
“What are we to drink?” (Exodus 15: 24).
“What is it?” (Exodus 16:15).
“Why did you do this?” (Exodus 17:3).
“Is the Lord among us or not?” (Exodus 17:7).
With no response in sight, they continued to spin aimlessly, dizzied spots masking their eyes.
As I sat in the grass watching the kids continue to twirl, I was reminded of a trick I’d learned in ballet as a little girl—spotting. In order to prevent dizziness, you choose a still object to fix your eyes on. With every turn of the pirouette, your head whips around to find your focal point, and you remain upright and dizzy-free. Reminded of this trick from childhood, I stood up, determined to try one more time. This time I glued my eyes to a nearby birdhouse as my body rotated again and again. It worked!
Moses must have known this trick, too. While the Israelites continued to whirl in the wilderness, Moses kept His eyes fixed on one thing—God. With each unsettling turn of circumstances, Moses’ knees never buckled. God’s provision kept Moses standing firm by turning water from bitter to sweet (Exodus 15:25), raining manna from heaven (Exodus 16:4), and providing drinking water from the rock of Christ (Exodus 17:6).
Moses’ determination was to remain upright in God’s promises, and he was used to fulfill the biggest one of them all—God’s holy promise to Abraham (Psalm 105:42). God established an entire nation of descendants through Moses!
Friend, do you feel dizzied by the wilderness? Today, let’s try fixing our eyes on God’s presence. Let’s choose to trade the unsteady dark spots for the clarity of His faithfulness. May our spinning be steadied by His almighty hand. Amen.
Here are the questions of the
wilderness, “What!” “Where!”
“How?” Faith has a brief but
comprehensive answer to all
the three, namely, God!
–Charles Henry Mackintosh
62 thoughts on "God Establishes a Nation through Moses"
-
This was so on point for me today. I was not going to read today’s devo, because I’m tired and I should have gone to bed already. I spent all day looking up jobs and applications, spinning and spinning around. Wondering how much longer, how many more do I have to fill out, why do people not want me, when will this all end, GOD ARE YOU STILL LISTENING? Much like the Israelites, I’ve focused on my immediate circumstances and not on the faithfulness of God and His promises. I don’t know when or how this spinning around will end, but I can be certain that He’s got a plan and a purpose for my life.
Lord, let my heart be stayed on you even as everything else around me spins out of control.
Thank you, Kaitlin for reminding me today to keep my eyes on Jesus! I’m so glad I decided to read this after all. -
Your analogy of “spotting” the Lord as spotting in dance resonated with me, as a dance teacher. Not only does spotting help you from complete dizziness, the focal point guides your direction as you travel. Without “spotting” not only are you totally dizzy, but you are directionless. Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” May we focus on Jesus, the one who guides us, steadies us in our dizzy wilderness, and leads us step by step providing for us as we fix our eyes on Him!
-
I think she provided a great illustration for a relatable example. It was beautifully built upon the foundation of scripture. I think her theological interpretations are solid and her application is both heart-felt and accurate. I think Kaitlin did a great job and I got a ton from this! Maybe some sisters understand certain language better than others, but would not publicly deem this work non-sensical if it doesn’t make sense to only you. Lets be humble uplifters even in our constructive criticism, especially if the author is reading these comments. Kaitlin, awesome job!
-
Betty, this is terribly insensitive, critical and non-constructive. Kaitlin’s sole purpose was to point us to Christ. To publicly tear her down based on personal preference is unnecessary and thoughtless. Based on the replies to your comment, you seem to be alone.
-
God was delivering the Israelites. Saving them, giving them life every day that they were in the wilderness. But they didn’t see it because it wasn’t what they expected. So they grumbled.
How often do I find myself in this very place. Like the Israelites, I stubbornly hold tightly to my own unmet expectations and dashed hopes. Questioning. Doubting. Grumbling. Yet it is when I put my hopes in external things, in my circumstances or outcomes, that I will always be disappointed.
God is the only One I can place my hope IN for deliverance and life.
And so, I must surrender my own faulty expectations. Let them go (Hebrews 12:1). Cut them off (Matthew 18:8). No longer give them life (Ephesians 4:27). Faulty expectations can be excessively large and long-held heavy burdens. But I can give ALL of my weighty, burdening expectations to Christ and receive the promise of His rest (Matthew 11:28). The true rest my heart longs for (Psalm 62:6). Only He offers true life and everlasting hope (1 John 2:25). His promises are truly higher and incomparably greater than the false promises of my expectations (Isaiah 55:9). Focusing on Him. Trusting Him. His gifts will always be just what I need. He is all I need to be fully satisfied (Psalm 63:5) and wholly fulfilled (Psalm 145:19).Kaitlin, thank you for your thoughts and words today!! Circumstances can often leave me feeling like I’m spinning out of control. What a great reminder to stay focused on God in the midst of the spinning (and always!) Only focusing on Him can prevent the inevitable dizziness and keep me standing firm. Praying with you: “May our spinning be steadied by His almighty hand. Amen.” Grateful for you, friend!
-
“The true rest my heart longs for (should be: Psalm 62:5).”
(But I love the wording from the NABRE found in Psalm 62:6)!
-
-
Thank you Kait (can I call you that?) for sharing your perspective! I seriously struggle so badly with not keeping my eyes on God. I’m looking at him, get excited and motivated, walk boldly in Christ, don’t get the gratification I was looking for (because let’s be honest, it’s SO hard not to find our self worth in other peoples’ opinion’s), take my eyes off him, get discouraged, repeat. It’s a continuous cycle for me but I am encouraged by you today! Thank you sweet friend in Christ!
Xoxo
Meg -
I just read her bio and she actually has a degree in journalism and communications. Writing styles are so varied and the judgment of them quite subjective. For example, I am not a fan of William Faulkner, but so many others love his writings. Ann Voskamp is one of my favorite writers, but it took some time to get used to her poetic, free-flowing style.
Like the others have pointed out, I hope that no matter who is writing, you are able to receive a word from God. And maybe if you aren’t able to change your mind about Katilin’s writings, you could just read the Scripture passages on those days instead.
I hope this doesn’t come across as rude; tone is very hard to convey in writing. :) Anyway, I’m in a small group right now and we have been talking a lot about how our words affect others; the power of life and the power of death. -
Wow. Maybe her style is silly & not your cup of tea, but the overall point seems clear. Keep your eyes on God in the midst of confusion and chaos (the wilderness) & you will remain upright… right? You get out of each devotional what you can. I’m sure she is doing her best to serve the SRT community. Your elaborate comment wasn’t necessary & genuinely makes me wonder if you are this insensitive in person.
Post Comments (62)