Hear and Obey

Numbers 20:2-12 NKJV

2 Now there was no water for the congregation; so they gathered together against Moses and Aaron. 3 And the people contended with Moses and spoke, saying: “If only we had died when our brethren died before the Lord! 4 Why have you brought up the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we and our animals should die here? 5 And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink.” 6 So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and they fell on their faces. And the glory of the Lord appeared to them.
7 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 8 “Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals.” 9 So Moses took the rod from before the Lord as He commanded him.
10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.
12 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”

Triune God,

Thank you for showing up in my life. Thank you for speaking to me. I am conscious of Father's love and design not only for the universe, but also for my life. I feel the shed blood of the Son of God cleansing and making me whole. I know the reality of your redeeming grace. I sense the nudges and hear the whispers of Holy Spirit, guiding and leading me. Thank you.

But I am very conscious of my ability to turn a deaf ear to you. I don't want to. I resist the temptation to do so, but I am ever aware. I know that in a moment of fervor, passion, or anger I can act with excess. I can do too much. I overact. I over-react. I impose my will on a situation that can only be addressed by your will. Discipline my Spirit-filled heart and life so that I resist the temptation to act in the flesh.

Moses over-reacted. He over-reached. He struck the rock when you instructed him simply to speak to it. His anger against the people nudged him past the realm of living in the Spirit, and he ventured into a fleshly response. It is a fine, but nevertheless definite line that he crossed. It is a line that is crossed by resisting the gentle nudges, checks, and demands of Holy Spirit. Moses deafened his ears and deadened his heart to You in that moment. He regretted his lapse into fleshly indulgence for the remainder of his lie.

You viewed Moses excess in striking the rock, rather than speaking to it, as an act of angry disobedience. Moses had to acknowledge that you judged him aright. His disobedience and anger in that moment barred Moses from entering the promised land of Canaan. He did not cross the Jordan. He did not witness Jericho fall. He did not witness the occupation of the land. Sad.

Lord God, help me to hear and obey. I want to live with a sense of your approval. I want to live away from the boundaries of my life where the checks of the Holy Spirit blink warning on the dashboard of my soul. I want your checks to be fewer and fewer as I learn to discern your will and follow you. But when you need to nudge, check, or demand of me, grant me the tenderness of heart to stop and listen. Restrain me from the rapid pace of action that would plunge me into a life of regret because I struck the rock rather than speaking to it. Gentle my soul so that I can speak more, and strike less.

I love you. I trust you. I want to hear and obey.

In the Name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
Amen.