Moses did this while the leaders watched. The people had complained and tested the LORD by asking, “Is the LORD really with us?" So Moses named that place Massah, which means "testing" and Meribah, which means “complaining." 
 
The 17th chapter of Exodus is another place in the Bible that talks about people who forget about the challenges that are behind them (because those challenges are behind them!), look at the very real challenges in front of them – and just kind of roll to a complete stop.

The Hebrew people sped up when the Lord sent Moses to bring them out of Egypt.

They slowed down when Pharaoh’s army came to capture them and take them all back into
slavery. They sped up when the Lord delivered them at the Red Sea.

They slowed down when they were stuck in the desert, wondering if they are going to run out of food. They sped up when the Lord sent quail for meat, and manna for bread.

And now they’ve slowed down again, because they are stuck in the desert, wondering if they are going to run out of water.

When you find yourself in a rhythm like that, you have some options. One option is to remember how drivers handle speed bumps in a parking lot.

You could stop in front of a speed bump – but then you’d never go anywhere. That’s fine, if all you wanted to do was park, but God didn’t make us just to park us.

You could idle, very slowly, up and over the speed bump, and then drive up to the next speed bump, slow down, and idle over the next one. That’s better than stopping completely, but it’s still slow, and it’s not comfortable.

Or you could find the perfect speed that lets you cross the speed bumps without stopping, or slowing to a crawl. Don’t speed up so fast that you and your car take off for the sky, of course – you’ll bounce your head off the ceiling, and that’s always painful!

I’ve lived through driver’s education with three teenaged children, and I’ve learned that there is a perfect speed for every parking lot. We have to figure out what the perfect speed for the parking lot is, and we may bounce around while we figure that out, but then things get smoother.

And there’s a perfect speed for every obstacle in your life, too. The obstacles you face are real (and so are speed bumps!), but the secret is, don’t stop, and don’t slow to a crawl. Maintain your speed.

And when I say “maintain your speed”, what I really mean is, “maintain your faith in God”.

That was the thing about the Hebrews, coming out of Egypt. Every speed bump they came to was a real speed bump, but every time they came to a speed bump, they slowed down to a crawl, or maybe even stopped, and they complained. Moses would nudge them forward, and God would carry them over the speed bump – and then they would come to the next speed bump, and …

Our lives are an endless series of speed-ups and slow-downs that would make a State Fair midway ride proud. I don’t know why, but I know that’s true. It was true for the Hebrew people when they were leaving Egypt, and it’s just as true for us today.

We could be just like the Hebrews. The speed bumps in our way are real, too. But the Bible tells us that we don’t have to slow down much, and we don’t have to worry, because God is going to get us over the next speed bump, just like God got us over the last speed bump.

We need to wear our safety belts, too, of course – but that’s a whole nother story...

This week please pray with me for

- those who are seeking employment,

- those who are traveling (including Shirley, Paul, Ariel, Afton, Jan, and Mariah),

- those who are awaiting medical procedures, and those who are recovering from medical procedures, and

- ministers and church staffs, as we prepare for Holy Week.

Have a GREAT week! Christ lives in you,

Spencer the wonder hamster