Splitting Rocks
Scripture Reading — Psalm 78:1-16
He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them water as abundant as the seas.
Many families have stories they tell again and again when they get together. My family had a great adventure driving up to the Arctic Circle a few years ago, and we like to recall the time we were stranded by a big flood there in the remote north. God helped us by providing a local man who knew how to navigate those waters to bring us to the safe side of the river. We will never forget how we were rescued.
Similarly, the people of Israel never forgot how God provided them water in the desert. It became a defining part of their story, a memory of such great importance that you couldn’t really know the story of God’s people unless you knew that God provided water for them by splitting rocks in the wilderness.
Here we find two important lessons: our God is a powerful God who does extraordinary acts of love; and we need to tell each other what God has done in order to build up our faith and have confidence that he will continue to act.
Maybe you feel stuck where you are, perhaps by overwhelming circumstances or a lack of resources—and there seems to be no way out. Ask God today to act powerfully in your life, and open yourself to receive his loving response—maybe even in an unexpected way, as the Israelites received water from a rock.
Lord, you have done so many wonderful things for your people. Help us remember and know that you will keep working and building us up. We praise your name! Amen.
About the author — Julia Prins Vanderveen
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