Exodus 17:2 Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide you with me? wherefore do you tempt the Lord?
[G.C. pp 621] The season of distress and anguish before us will require a faith that can endure weariness, delay, and hunger, a faith that will not faint, though severely tried. The period of probation is granted to all to prepare for that time… Question: How do we prepare for that time? Do we prepare by practicing to go without food for many days, incrementally? Until we reach forty? Or should we ask God to give us patience? You can ask, but we do not recommend asking for patience.
Instead, if we know that we are not manifesting the patience of the saints in our everyday experiences, we should first confess our sin to God and leave Him alone so that He might do His good work in us in His own time and way. This will call for an acknowledgement of our failures and it will call for surrender. Thus, we may ask God for grace and strength in time of need, but for us to tell Him what to do, and when to do it, will in most cases be asking for trouble.
Exodus 17:3 And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? 4 And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me. 5 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith you smote the river, take in thine hand, and go.
Exodus 17:6 Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
May The Lord add His blessing to the study of His word. God bless!