A number of years ago I ran across an account in the Old Testament that spoke deeply to me and continues to inspire and teach me. In the book of Numbers (20:1–13), there is a story about the end of the forty years of the children of Israel wandering in the wilderness. The people had once again run out of water, and they let Moses know how angry they were about it. Up to this point, Moses had not only led them out of slavery in Egypt but also proved to them that God was providing everything they needed, including protection, food, and water. Through Moses had also come a strong basis for self-discipline and moral integrity—the Ten Commandments. Yet, as this new challenge arose, they seemed to have forgotten all about the good they had witnessed, including an earlier time when water had been provided for them by Moses striking a rock (see Exodus 17:1–7).

I think Moses must have felt exasperated to hear their grumblings again, but he turned away from the accusing voices to seek God’s guidance, as he had done so many times before. This time, God told him to gather the congregation and “speak . . . unto the rock” to get water. However, Moses didn’t speak to the rock as God had told him to do. Instead he called the people together and scolded them. He then struck the rock with his rod as he had done forty years earlier. 

I knew that just as the Israelites needed to listen to God, I needed to look to God as the only source of good.