The LORD answered Moses: Go on ahead of the people, and take along with you some of the elders of Israel, holding in your hand, as you go, the staff with which you struck the Nile.
I will be standing there in front of you on the rock in Horeb. Strike the rock, and the water will flow from it for the people to drink. Moses did this, in the sight of the elders of Israel.
The place was named Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled there and tested the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD in our midst or not?” (Exodus 17:5-7 NABRE)
We test God all the time, don't we? The obvious tests come when we face crises, right? When someone close to us dies, we ask, "Where was God for that person?" Especially for those who lived good lives. When someone loses a job, or finds themselves stricken with a debilitating illness or injury, we ask, as the Israelites did, "Is the Lord in our midst or not?"
We forget that God is always right beside us. Today's passage from Exodus reminds us that God has expressed his closeness in physical, tangible ways. For Moses, God told him, I will be standing there in front of you! And he proved it with the miracle of producing water from the rock for the people to drink.
The Lord is right here with you and I, right now, in the same way (we even see smaller miracles if we quietly pay attention). He is literally standing here in front of you as you read this, or by my side as I write it. Something to think about when we begin to have doubts and question his real presence in our daily lives.
Today, I will recall God's real presence with me in each moment.
Saint John of God, whose humility and selfless dedication to others makes you the intercessor, patron and role model for many including hospitals, nurses, and the sick, pray for us.
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