"Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33). This is the lesson God is teaching his people in today's reading where the excitement of the defeat of Pharaoh's army is past and the people now begin traveling through the desert. "Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter" (Exodus 15:22-23). Can you imagine three days in a desert with no water? I sometimes get a headache from not drinking enough water in one afternoon! And when they finally find water, it's undrinkable.
The people grumbled, but Moses turned to God. And when he did the response was immediate. "The LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the LORD made a decree and a law for them, and there he tested them. He said, 'If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD who heals you" (Exodus 15:25-26).
The LORD would provide for his people as we see from this episode. Later in the reading God similarly provides food for them out of nowhere. Not only does he provide in what he gives them, he provides in what he doesn't give them. He promises that if they follow him he will withhold disease from them.
This is such an important lesson for us as well. It is easy for God to take care of his people. Easy! So as we go about serving him, trust him; pray to him. We don't have to be distracted with worries about ourselves. He graciously gives us the opportunity to focus our hearts and souls and strength on him (and others, as he commands). What a privilege!
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