Connection—even when you don’t get your way

After leading the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses learned that God would not allow him to enter the Promised Land. Faithful Moses had disobeyed the directive of God at Meribah, and as a result, the Lord revealed to him that neither he nor Aaron would be crossing into Canaan with the rest of Israel.

Here’s what happened. Miriam, Moses’ sister, had just died, and the Israelites, after journeying relentlessly for decades, came to Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin. They were weary, hungry, and thirsty—and utterly miserable. “The people thus contended with Moses and spoke, saying, ‘If only we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord! Why then have you brought the Lord’s assembly into this wilderness, for us and our beasts to die here? Why have you made us come up from Egypt, to bring us in to this wretched place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink’” (Numbers 20:3-5).

It’s bad enough to be around angry, contentious souls when you can feel your car keys in your pocket, ready and waiting to facilitate your escape. Moses and Aaron had no such recourse. They sought God; He revealed the plan.

“Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink” (Numbers 20:8).

Moses took the rod, and instead of speaking to the rock, he beat it with the rod, like the Lord had commanded long ago at Rephidim (see Exodus 17:6; Numbers 20:11).

To us humans, the difference between speaking to a rock and striking it may seem like no big deal, but in God’s eyes, Moses was disobedient. He had chosen to approach the command of the Lord his own way.

Although hundreds of rich and meaningful sermons have been preached concerning Moses’ choice at Meribah, I don’t want to focus on any of these worthwhile topics: his poor decision; the difference between speaking to and striking the rock; the symbolism involved; or the consequences of Moses’ disobedience. Instead, I want to look at the solid connection between the Lord and him despite Moses’ failure to obey.

You see, Moses’ relationship with the God of Israel did not end at Meribah. God continued to lead Moses, to provide for Israel, and to do the miraculous among them. Unlike some Christians who cut others off after being offended, God did not give Moses the cold shoulder from then on. No, He remained faithful to the man of God, and Moses maintained his connection to the Lord despite the heartbreaking consequence of his disobedience.

This is a huge and all-encompassing lesson to learn in your walk with God. What do you do when things flat-out don’t go your way? How do you approach life and your relationship with the Lord and others from that time forward?

Consider Moses. His heart’s desire was to lead God’s people out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. Even after that fateful day at Meribah and the stunning pronouncement of the Lord, “…you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them” (see Numbers 20:12), Moses continued to lead the people and to serve God faithfully. And before his death the man revealed that he had pleaded with the Lord, “Let me, I pray, cross over and see the fair land that is beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon” (Deuteronomy 3:25), but God, the God to whom he was connected, said, “Enough! Speak to Me no more of this matter. Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes to the west and north and south and east, and see it with your eyes, for you shall not cross over this Jordan” (see Deuteronomy 3:26-27). God allowed Moses to see the desire of his heart; he was not allowed to enter. Moses chose to cling tightly to God, nonetheless, and died, leaving behind the overarching testimony of faithfulness to the God who loved him.

God is not unfair; He is righteous in all that He does. And when things don’t go the way you had hoped; when the desires of your heart remain unmet; when it seems that everyone else is blessed but you, what will you do? Will you throw in the towel? Will you leave it all behind? Moses could have—but didn’t.

Sometimes we don’t see the forest for the trees. Have you ever been so distracted by all the little pieces to the faith-puzzle that you missed out on the big picture of God’s never-failing, abiding love? Has your desire ever grown to be so all-consuming within you that it even overshadowed the Lord Himself? Was the direction you insisted upon going second- or third-best (or much worse), and all the while God was urging you elsewhere? Often what seems to be God’s rejection actually stems from our own frailty and human thinking—not recognizing the leading of His love and care.

Don’t let the disappointments of life or failures in faith unravel your connection with the Lord. His love toward you never fails; He is faithful to you till the end; and He is both your anchor and your high tower when everything around you falls apart.

If things don’t go your way, recognize this: You are connected to Someone far greater than all the blessings you could ever desire all wrapped up and tied together in a massive bundle. You are connected with the One whose love is better than life itself (see Psalm 63:3).

Let your attitude be this: Nothing shall ever be able to separate me from my tight connection with the Lord—including not getting my way.

Dorothy

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39