Thirsty

Why did you bring us out of Egypt--to kill us with thirst? --people of Israel to Moses (Ex 17:3)


How many of you are pessimists? Every silver lining has a dark cloud? That's the way I approach the world, I'm sorry to say. (Fortunately I'm married to the world's greatest optimist so we balance out!). I'm always waiting for the other shoe to drop, and the worst case scenario to occur. I can pick out the down side to everything!

So I resonate with the first reading for this coming Sunday (it Ex 17:1-7--go read it. Go ahead, I'll wait..........) In it the newly freed Israelites camp out in the wilderness and all is hunkey-dorey, save for one thing. No water. (Okay that is a big thing) But they're all over Moses and God for it right away--as if God didn't know it already. They complain and act all pessimistic until God has Moses strike a rock with his staff and produce a stream of water out of it. Chances are the Israelites only saw that rock as half full!

Too often we focus on what we don't have, to the detriment of what we do have. Case in point--budget shortfalls. That red ink gets all the attention, while the ministry being done by all the black ink goes unnoticed. God has provided this church with people, with resources galore, and with a fine sense of stewardship as being giving from your abundance and not to a scarcity. God has gathered you together, worked with you, listened to your prayers, and blessed you with leaders and a wonderful mission base from which to go out with the good news.

The question is--do we see the church as half empty, or half full? Do we let our thirst overide our trust in God and so put God to the test. Or do we have faith that the one who began a good work in Messiah will be faithful to complete it? Not that we sit back and wait for God to "provide." But that we go out and seek the resources that God has already provided--that's an optimistic approach.

Pastor Tom