"Is the Lord among us or not?"

This is what the Israelites were saying not long after God had delivered them from Egypt (Exodus 17:7). They had seen God do the incredible. They had cowered in fear at the edge of the sea, thinking that they were about to be killed by the Egyptians. Then they watched as God parted the sea, allowing them to walk through on dry ground, before causing the sea to fall back onto the Egyptian army. Then, only a month and a half into their journey, they complained about their lack of food. And God provided what they needed - plenty of meat every evening, and bread every morning.

But those Israelites must have had short memories. Even as they were eating the bread that God miraculously provided for them every day, when they came to a place without water, they started to grumble. They thought that Moses had brought them into the desert to die. What were they thinking? Could God part the sea, destroy the Egyptian army, and send bread every morning, and yet NOT be able to provide water for them?

I think that there are at least two lessons for us in this.

1. God's people must not have short memories. How often have we seen God come through for us, providing just what we needed? Most of us could say that we have seen this many times. But aren't we often just like those Israelites - quickly forgetting what God has done in the past when our present need is not taken care of as quickly as we'd like?

2. God's people must not use present circumstances to draw conclusions about God's love. The Israelites were asking, "Is God among us or not?" They didn't have any water to drink. So they concluded that God must not be among them. It was as if they had said, "If God was among us, we would have water to drink right now!" But what was true? God was among them. They had plenty of examples of God's past provision and plenty of promises about the future. That should have been enough for them to not question God. But it wasn't. Maybe they were paying more attention to their circumstances than to God's track record and His promises. Whether that was the case or not, we can be sure that present difficulties are no indication that God is not with us.