Wed., 5/11/16 Devotion (Num. 20:10)

Today's encouragement comes from Numbers 20:10, where we read these words:

"And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he [Moses] said to them, 'Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?' "

Anyone can understand why Moses was so exasperated with the people—still, it was no excuse for him to "blow a fuse" and fail to honor his God. This one critical misstep prevented Moses from entering the Promised Land. We may be sure he replayed what happened many times in his head, and wished he could do it all over again.

Let us keep this in mind, especially if we are in a significant leadership role: people *will* err, and provoke us to anger; but the mark of greatness is not retaliation, but meekness. Typically, Moses was a giant of humility, but in this case he fell short.

[Puritan quote of the day: "If the church is beautiful beyond all other of the children of men, how beautiful is Jesus Christ, from Whom the church derives all its comeliness?” —Thomas Vincent, in, "The True Christian's Love to the Unseen Christ"]