This Terrible Place

“‘Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place?’ It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!” Numbers 20:5

Moses had his work cut out for him trying to appease the complaints of a grumbling crowd of people in the wilderness. Their hearts of celebration from being rescued quickly changed to an attitude of consolation. They found themselves in a wilderness they could not have anticipated, a set of circumstances that was far from celebration. Their ‘delivered to’ seemed to be worse than their ‘delivered from.’ One of the primary reasons God brought them into the wilderness was to reveal to them the reality of what was going on in Egypt and how they were being treated. God in His great love for them delivered them from a set of circumstances where they were second class citizens. God chose and created them to be more than second…they were created to be His first love. God could see every single act done against the children He loved, and finally had seen enough. Sometimes God’s greatest act of grace and mercy is the very thing for which we most question His goodness and character.

There have certainly been times in my life when God has revealed a set of circumstances that felt more like a consolation prize instead of a celebration. Heartbreaking times when I had to walk out a season where someone else made decisions that left my heart parched. Those times forced me to look for water to quench my thirst…to find my relief…to stabilize my suffering. Oh, there were plenty of bodies of water from which to drink but they were far from beneficial. One of the greatest pools that beckoned me to come and drink were the bitter waters. Many times, I knelt at the water’s edge, cupping my hands and raising them to my lips. Time and time again, I was reminded how futile and tasteless it was, but I kept going back. I saw my reflection in those waters, and what I didn't like what I saw. Finally, one day I set my eyes on Jesus who was my healing. Until I measured my misery against the backdrop of the cross everything seemed hopeless. But once I involved Christ into my set of circumstances the water became a little sweeter…a little more bearable…a little more tolerable. “When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water… because it was bitter…and the LORD showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. I am the LORD, your healer” Exodus 15:23-26. Our log…the empty cross is the only thing we can apply that will make our circumstances sweeter. The empty cross tells a story of hope, reconciliation and resurrection. The empty cross is our guarantee that all things are possible in Christ, and sin and death have no real power.

I’m encouraged for this truth for my friends who have a parched heart and find themselves in the wilderness for now. I’m confident that God will show them that they are His first love, and He will not allow them to settle for anything less. I’m staking my claim for these guarantees because of an empty cross on a faraway hill.