Temper Tantrum at the Rock

Leadership

I can understand how frustrated he must have been. He had spent almost 40 years enduring constant complaints as he moved his people from one place to another while trying to teach them a new way of doing things. For decades, every time they were hungry or thirsty, angry with each other, lost or confused, he found a way to scratch that itch.

Now, they had reached yet another camp in the wilderness, and once again, there was no water.

"There was no water for the people to drink at that place, so they rebelled against Moses and Aaron." (Exodus 17:2)

“Here we go again!” Moses must have thought. So, he went to God for advice. The Lord told him to gather everyone around a specific rock, speak to it, and water would flow out of it. In my version of the story, Moses thought, “Ah, the old water from the rock trick, we did that one before, but I hit the rock with my staff last time, so I think I’ll do that. I know you said “speak” to the rock, but that’s not how we’ve always done it.”

So, instead of speaking to the rock like he was told, he struck it. Nothing happened. So, he doubled down and struck the rock a second time. Mercifully, God allowed water to flow out to prove his care and goodness to his people. Moses, however, was chastised for refusing to trust and obey God’s instructions. His willfulness caused him to lose his ticket to the promised land.

So many of us are like that. We get stuck in our old ways of doing things and refuse to try something new because the old way worked. We ignore the fact that the environment, and therefore the situation, has changed. That attitude puts us at risk of getting left behind.

Progress demands innovation.

We must be willing to evolve and challenge ourselves to seek the best that can be done, not the best that we know how. Otherwise, we will be left in the dust while watching others move forward.

Are you being challenged to change? Do it! The promised land awaits.