Growing with God can be an adventure, but growth is important to God. It is one of the interesting paradoxes with God. He says about Himself in Malachi 3 that He is the Lord and does not change. However, God is all about growth. You can see it reflected in the nature He created around us. Grass, trees, plants, and animals are always growing and changing. Nothing is allowed to stagnate and if it does, it usually dies.
So what does this mean for us? It means a life with God ushers in many seasons designed to help us grow with God. He does not want us to remain in the same place with Him. He desires that we are constantly moving towards Him and with Him. For us, this can sometimes feel uncomfortable. Stretching is not always easy. But God in His love does not want to leave us where we are.
Looking at the life of Moses, he first encounters God at the burning bush. Moses is hiding in the desert when God shows up and calls Moses into his destiny. God tells Moses He has selected him to deliver His people, the Israelites, from slavery in Egypt. Moses argues with God. Moses is focused on himself and how inadequate he feels he is for the job. Moses also communicates in his insecurity that he has little trust in God and tries to convince God he has the wrong person.
God tells Moses who He is and also His grand plans for Israel. He wants to take the Israelites out of the land of slavery and bring them to a place of abundance. Moses still argues with God, and in Exodus 4, we see God give Moses a series of miraculous signs to show He is with Moses.
Exodus 4:2-5 (NKJV) “So the Lord said to him, ‘What is that in your hand?’ He said, ‘A rod.’ And He said, ‘Cast it on the ground.’ So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Reach out your hand and take it by the tail’ (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand),’ that they may believe that the Lord God of the fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.’”
This is the first time we see God use the rod in Moses’ hand to perform miracles and signs, but it is not the last. We see the rod being used by God to bring about the plagues against Pharoah and Egypt so that Pharoah would let the Israelites go. When Moses and the Israelites came to the Red Sea and needed to cross with the Egyptians hot on their heels in pursuit, God instructed Moses to lift up his rod. God parted the Red Sea, so the Israelites could cross safely while the Egyptians drowned.
Later, the Israelites were complaining about their unmet needs. This time they said they had no water. Exodus 17:4-6(NKJV) “So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, ‘What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!’ And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river and go. Behold I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.’”
As you continue to read through the life of Moses, the rod is repeatedly used to bring about the miracles of God. But also, in the meantime, you see Moses’ relationship with God grow. He went from a man who argued with God at the burning bush to a man who regularly met with God face to face. Moses began to cultivate an intimate relationship with God.
Exodus 33:9-11(NKJV) “And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses. All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door. So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.”
Many years have passed in the wilderness. However, the Israelites find themselves in a position of having no water. They once again complain to Moses who once again goes to God.
Numbers 20:7-11(NKJV) “Then the Lord spoke to Moses saying, ‘Take the rod, you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals.’ So Moses took the rod from before the Lord as He commanded him. And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, ‘Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?’ then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.”
At first glance at this passage, you see another miracle performed by God through Moses’ rod as it had many many times before. However, when we look at what God told Moses to do, this was not how God wanted this miracle performed. He told Moses to SPEAK to the rock. Instead of Moses trusting God with this new way of doing things, He went back to what was familiar and had always worked for him in the past.
God honored the request by providing water for the people, but Moses paid a high price for his disobedience. He was not allowed to enter the promised land with the people.
I am very curious about this interaction between God and Moses. Why did God seemingly change the rules on Moses and ask him to speak to the rock? For many years, God asked Moses to strike things with his rod or lift his rod. As I began to think about this passage, I began to realize that Moses is not the same person he was when he first encountered God at the burning bush. He and God have been through a lot leading these often rebellious Israelites through the wilderness.
God and Moses have cultivated an intimate friendship. Moses has spoken with God face to face. Moses has longed for more of God’s presence and has boldly asked for it. There is a time when Moses asks to see God (Exodus 33). God says yes, but hides Moses in the cleft of a rock to protect Moses from experiencing God’s full self which would have killed Moses.
I think in this interaction where God tells Moses to speak to the rock, God is trying to give Moses another upgrade. He’s asking Moses to leave the familiar and go another step with Him. He is asking Moses to grow. However, whatever Moses’ motivation is, he chooses familiar. He chooses what has worked for him in the past. He chooses at that moment not to grow further with God.
I wonder how many times we do this. I wonder how many times God longs to give us an upgrade or push us to go further, but we go back to what is familiar. We go back to what has always worked for us in the past. The problem is when we do that we have the genuine possibility of growing stagnant. Stagnant water does not bring life no matter how good it was before.
I encourage you friend to look at places in your life where maybe God is requiring an upgrade. Maybe you have always walked in faith in one area of your life, and God is asking you to upgrade your faith in other areas of your life. Maybe there is an area where you are faithful to pray, but now God is asking you to make decrees of promise over that area. Whatever it may be, God is excited to partner with you in growth. He doesn’t want you stagnant in any area of your life. He wants you to constantly grow and ultimately grow closer to Him.
Remember God is always for us not against us. He loves us more than we can understand. Where in your life is it time to grow with God?
Check out these other posts on growth.
Simple Is Better: Knowing the Limits of Growing by Dianne Vielhuber https://simplewordsoffaith.com/2024/04/01/simple-is-better-knowing-the-limits-of-growing/
Grow Effortlessly by Lisa Crowder https://lisacrowder.substack.com/p/grow-effortlessly
Opportunities for Growth by Ashely Olivine https://ashleyolivine.com/opportunities-for-growth/