“Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the LORD appeared to them. The LORD said to Moses, ‘Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.’ ” (Number 20:6-8)
So what should you do when disaster happens—or even just when you’re having another lousy day? The Israelites complained, wished they were dead, told off the guys in charge. Moses and Aaron made a more productive, more logical choice: They went to God for help.
It’s not that they weren’t scared. We’ll see in the next few days that Moses was really angry, even. They didn’t pretend like this life-threatening catastrophe of having no water didn’t matter to them. They just went to the Person who could do something about it and fell face down in front of him.
And God did what God does: He promised to help his needy children, the ones willing to turn to him, to trust him. That’s what he wants from us. That’s why James said to call it joy when things go wrong, because it sends us back to the God who loves to have us lean on him.
Think: Do you get closer to God when things are going well or when they’re not? Why do you think it takes a problem to turn our attention fully on him?
Pray: Ask God to help you to turn to him for help first when things go wrong.
Do: Read James 1:2-8 and notice what James says is the benefit of hard times.