Scripture - Ex 17:5 –Ex 17:7 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. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”

Observation - Moses was leading the Israelites post Red Sea through the wilderness toward Canaan. In the process they ran out of water. The people began accusing him and quarreling with him. They had completely forgotten God's miraculous acts just days previous. Moses calls out on God and He tells Moses to strike the rock at Horeb, which interestingly means desolate,  releasing a miraculous flow of water. After that took place, Moses gave the place two names:

• Massah - testing
• Meribah - quarreling

Application - so often, great Old Testament leaders experienced God and afterward named the place wonderful things like "On the Mountain of the Lord, it will be provided!" our of their fondness for what God had done. It becomes "a favorite chapter" in the book of their life. Unfortunately, great encounters with God aren't always pleasant. Moses encounter at Horeb was one of those experiences. Sure, he experienced God, but he also came close to death and he saw the absolute fleshly side of the people he was leading. While water was provided in a desolate place, it was a bad experience. It was a place where he was tested. It was a place where the people were tested. It reaked of failure as the people did nothing but bicker and argue and complain.

He took the time to name the place. It was still and iconic moment. It was an important chapter in the book.

This completely resonates with my soul! There have been chapters in my walk that have been extremely difficult. One part of me would not even want them in the book of my life, and another part of me recognizes that these are potentially the most important chapters of the entire book. They are defining moments. They are less than glamourous. They pull back the curtain and reveal the ugly side of life. But they also reveal God's faitfulness to never leave me or forsake me, even when things go to... go to.... well, you know! 

I am glad for the key places where things get messy! He is still faithful.

Prayer - Lord, thank you for not embellishing your Word. Thank you that it portrays real situations with real people who went through hard places... with YOU! I am encouraged!