LIFE SCRIPTS

1 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?” 3 But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?” 4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.” 5 The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
Exodus 17:1‭-‬7 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/exo.17.1-7.NIV.

The true test of leadership comes during crisis. The multitude must have been exhausted from the walk. They were evidently thirsty and angry. Besides, the heat must have been unbearable so they must have also been dehydrated. In their frustration, they castigated Moses for bringing them out into the desert. It’s interesting that they had seen God guiding them and enjoyed the good times but chose to take it out on one they could see when times were tough. Moses was the man they could see and feel. So they chose to give him grief…to put him under pressure. Verses before and the same people had complained about food before God opened the door of provision. So one wonders why they didn’t choose to turn to the One who had provided for them? It’s the human tragedy of forgetting fast especially during times of crisis. But what leadership lessons can we learn from Moses? When the tide turned against him, he looked up to God for guidance. I wonder what I would have done if I was in his place? Would I have chosen to play to the gallery to tame some raw nerves? Would I have given false hope? Moses chose to ask God for guidance…a rare attribute in our age of ‘Google’ consultancy. He didn’t pull aside his confidants or strategists instead he sought God and He answered directly. In times of crisis where do we look to? When the tide turns against us just at the knick of time where’s our hope? Only in God and God alone. Catch 22 situations are the best ones to use to prove to the naysayers that a God exists in heaven. Yes, we might be confused and not know where we’re going. But as we call on God, He answers and even witnesses were there to see (the elders of Israel).