By Rae Lynn DeAngelis
Christian author Beth Moore shared an amusing story about a family of ducks who spent the day contentedly splashing around in a puddle, while only a few hundred feet away stood a very large pond.
I wonder. How many times in life do you and I settle for a “puddle” when just over the horizon God has something so much better waiting for us?
If the Israelites had been a little more patient and had trusted God to provide His very best, they would have seen that their heavenly Father had something so much better waiting for them.
“Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, ‘What are we to drink?’” (Exodus 15:22-24)
When the Israelites came to the well at Marah, the water was bitter. In their discontentment, they grumbled and complained until God gave them what they wanted.
Keep in mind that there were hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children in this caravan. It would be difficult to distribute water to every person from a single water supply perhaps no bigger than a well.
This scene from Exodus takes place only three days after the Israelites witnessed God parting the Red Sea. How quick we are to grumble and complain when God doesn’t give us what we think we need. I’m afraid human nature hasn’t changed much from then until now.
“Then Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.” (Exodus 15:25)
God gave the people what they wanted. If only they had been patient enough to wait for what God had for them just over the horizon. “…. then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.” (Exodus 15:27)
The Israelites were willing to settle for Marah (a puddle), when all along God had Elim (a great big pond). With its twelve springs and seventy palms, Elim was more than a watering hole. It was an oasis in the desert. Not only was God prepared to quench His children’s thirst, but He was also ready to give them shade and rest—a welcome relief from the hot desert sun.
God is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or even imagine, so perhaps we would be wise to wait for God’s best.
“Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.” (Psalm 62:5)
“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1)
“I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.” (Psalm 130:5)
Don’t settle for the puddle—wait for the pond.
