Exodus 17 - Testing or Trusting

Where is God in the midst of this situation?  I know I have searched for God's hand in the middle of a trial.  The Israelites wandering in the Desert of Sin (interesting name) and found there was no water at their camp for the night. 

Something interesting happens here and I wonder if it has happened in our lives too. To blame God would be sacrilege, but to blame someone present in the midst of turmoil doesn't seem to have the same spiritual emphasis. The Israelites grumble against Moses. I know I am prone to grumble when I am tired and frustrated and things are not going as I planned. My poor husband usually hears the most of that grumbling. In truth, my circumstances whether pleasant or trying are ordered by God for his glory. 

In meeting with me for financial counsel, many people say everything was going well until some unexpected event occurred. They blame doctors, banks, anyone who may be related to the event but in truth God brought the trial for his own glory. We test The Lord when we don't look to Him in our trials or give credit to Him in our abundance. 

Moses, at God's direction, strikes the stone and water comes out. He names the place "testing" and "quarreling" because that was the place where they tested God saying He was not with them.  As if to emphasize His point to the people God allows the Amelekites to threaten the camp. Now they would really see if God was with them. 

Moses however looked to God as the Amelekites attacked the camp and held God's staff high like a banner on a hill overlooking Joshua and His army as the defeated the army. God promised that the Amelekites would be blotted out. Joshua was to see this promise of God and know His help comes from above. Moses modeled faith to the people and they saw how much God was with the nation. 

Notice that Moses in trusting God did not wait passively to see what The Lord might do; he was actively engaged in holding his staff interceding for his people. God honored this act of faith and blessed the people as they overcame the enemy. We too must be about engaging ourselves in the battle even as we look to God for our salvation. 

Our enemy may be a person or it may be the sin that is entrenched in our lives, but we can be sure that God is still at work and he cares for his people. If we will look to Him in trust and do our part in faith, there is no doubt God gets the glory and we are blessed to be a part of it. Whether we are in battle or suffering want, our God is more than sufficient to provide our solution - can we trust Him that much?  

May God richly bless you as you seek Him and as you serve Him.