Have you heard Christian comedian and singer Mark Lowry’s story about how he knew when his mother had ENOUGH? If you need a laugh, you can find it here. Mark wished for a ten-second warning for when Mama had enough. It is a light-hearted look from a child’s perspective, but every mother can likely relate to those moments of ENOUGH! It is not just mothers that can relate to that feeling. ENOUGH is a human emotion.
Moses displayed ENOUGH when he slammed his rod into a rock and proclaimed his irritation with complaining and whining people. God had already provided water at a previous location by instructing Moses to strike the rock. This time, God had given him instruction to speak to the rock.
And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. Numbers 20:10-11
God graciously provided water even though Moses disobeyed His instructions, but there were disappointing consequences. Moses and Aaron would not be entering the Promised Land with their people.
Humanly speaking, no one could blame Moses for his frustration. The Israelites complained about everything and ruined their chances of entering the Promised Land for the first time because of their unbelief. They refused to believe God would fight their battles against the giants in the land.
God had provided water for the people the last time they were thirsty and there was no reason He could not provide for them again. This moment felt like “the last straw” for Moses. The Bible calls Moses the “meekest man on earth,” but even he gave in to his frustration, responded with anger, and hit the rock with his rod instead of speaking to it.
Commentators much wiser than I conjecture that this striking of the rock for the second time destroyed the picture God was conveying of Jesus dying once for His people thousands of years later. But even more importantly, Moses became the center of attention rather than God. In his ENOUGH moment, Moses robbed God of a better miracle than the one His people had already seen.
Have you had an ENOUGH moment like Moses? Overwhelmed with problem after problem that never seems to end? Satan surely never plays fair either. He knows how to kick you when you are down. The moment of the “last straw” does not have to “break the camel’s back,” however. There is always a choice to respond better than you feel with God’s help. The “last straw” can instead light the sacrifice by giving the situation to God to do whatever He wants to do through it.
A dear friend reminded me of this option this week as she endured a frightening health event resulting in an ICU admittance. Amid the unknown, she shared her surrender to God to let Him work through the situation as He saw fit. The result she reported was peace and joy. She used the last straw to light the sacrifice instead of letting it break her into a puddle of self-pity and sorrow. I was just one of many who saw God at work in her life, bringing her a miracle of healing that astounded her doctors.
Not all moments of surrender will lead to full and immediate healing or resolution, but it will lead to immediate peace and joy. Remembering who God is in the moment of ENOUGH changes the attitude, not necessarily the circumstance. Unlike Moses, who would probably go back and do things very differently, we still have the opportunity to PAUSE and PRAY, using that last straw to light the sacrifice on the altar of God’s grace.
When your next moment of ENOUGH threatens to overwhelm you, consider how God might want to show Himself mighty to those around you. PAUSE, PRAY, and then PLACE the situation at His feet. PEACE will follow.
Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee:
he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. Psalm 55:22
Praying for you, my friends. Have a great week!
Erica B.
His Song in the Night 