Sir , just a little more July 21, 2020

July 21, 2020.

Good afternoon,

" Moses led Israel from the Red Sea on to the Wilderness of Shur. They traveled for three days through the wilderness without finding any water. They got to Marah, but they couldn't drink the water at Marah, it was bitter…… And the people complained to Moses, " So what are we supposed to drink ?"  Exodus 15:22-24 ( from The Message ).

As the Israelites came through the parting of the Red Sea, this was their first experience of freedom. They had been slaves for generations and had just lived through one of the greatest miracles of all times, Mose and the Red Sea. And now they are beginning to complain after three days because the water tastes like Elmira tap water, a little bitter. We have not changed. After a miracle of surviving a heart attack, I keep asking God for a little more here, and a little more there. " Please God , control my diabetes!".  We are no different than the Israelites. I think it is part of the human condition, to want more, and have less things go wrong. We want nice sweet water all the time.

" It is not that we cannot feed the poor, it is because we cannot satisfy the rich "  ( found recently on a Facebook feed ). I am wealthy from my Canadian perspective when I compare  myself with the rest of the seven billion other people in this world. I want more than enough food, a week at a cottage, books to read and 70% dark chocolate among other things. Why is it that I would like just a little more every month, when I know many people do not have enough ?

So, the three day wait for God's people was too long. They wanted sweet water from an overflowing stream. I am just like them. Moses does not have time for their complaining, but he never gives up on them. He was in charge for 40 years, and put up with their attitudes for a long time: two generations worth. Moses put them in their place often. He was one of them. I believe they understood each other. God gave them that "pillar of fire" to lead them besides who they were. God loved them, as God loves us despite ourselves.

Prayer

Keep me satisfied,

With all that I need

because I want too much.

Help me share

out of my enormous abundance

with those who need it

today.

It is a matter of life.

And death

Help me, O Lord of the Red Sea and Wilderness.   AMEN.

Fred      Pastor Poole Mennonite Church