Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. They quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord ! Why did you bring the Lord ’s community into this wilderness, that we and our livestock should die here? 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 20:2-5
There are times when I can empathize with the Israelites. I think most Christians would admit that it sometimes feels like God has led us into a desert, either spiritually or in a fleshly way. Mother Teresa admitted to experiencing these “dry times” in her faith journey. I know I am guilty of a “where is the water” attitude at times. How do we keep our eyes on the kingdom of God when all we feel is thirst? Perhaps we need to practice satisfying our spiritual thirst so often that it becomes part our spiritual DNA.
I think the spiritual disciplines of prayer, study, reflection, and service go a long way toward altering our spiritual DNA. To be honest I feel like the process of writing this blog is altering my spiritual DNA. It has been a journey of trying to keep God at the Center as my life has experienced the eddies and whitewater of travel, funerals, the marriage of my daughter, and many other life “rapids”.
Keeping God at the center has provided a rudder to help me keep from getting off track and rudderless. It has helped me distinguish between being a sailor and my savior. My brother worked in the fishing industry in Alaska when he was in college. I think they were working in the gulf of Alaska when something went wrong with their rudder and they were stranded for days unable to move in rough seas. He describes a time of being very seasick, discouraged, and hopeless. I think we can feel this way along our Christian journey and that is OK. God does not promise a journey without adversity and challenge. He just promises to be with us.
Prayer: God help me to drink deeply from the cool clear spring of your love for me daily so that when the inevitable spiritual desert patches come there will be no doubt in me about where the water to sustain me will come from.
Walking on Water 
