Is the Lord among us?

Desperation

people of Israel have followed the call into the desert, what do they find there? Not water!

On one level, their grumbling is justified - there is no water here.

On another level, they’re missing something deeper:

God repeatedly provides, they repeatedly doubt.

Theological as much as historical point

Spiritual as well as physical reality

When they lose hope, they start Grumbling amongst themselves.

Doubt of YHWH expressed as doubt of Moses

fear of isolation from God brings out the worst in us.

the end of our tether?

It’s not always easy. Andrea and I have just had a couple fo nights of respite, but I’ve been at the end of my tether, and I’m not the one who’s in constant pain!

Moses gets to the root of the matter:

Is the Lord among us or not?

Same root question in our struggles today

Is God with us, or are we on our own?

Even Jesus experienced this dislocation and isolation

When we seem most forsaken, is when the Lord is closest to us. Jesus on the cross. God-incidences.

Are our hearts open to see?

God is faithful, again and again.

2 Corinthians 1:3–7 NIV

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

The God who draws near

Draw near

Even as we lament the suffering of this world, we can take comfort from the God who draws near to us, and encourages us to draw near to him