You have shown your people desperate times; you have given us wine that makes us stagger. Psalm 60:3

Have you ever wondered why God the people of Israel walked in the desert for 40 years under Moses’ leadership? Ever wonder why we go through “dry spells” with God?

When I went hiking with the Boy Scouts, occasionally we would need to search for clean water sources because our canteens had run out (long before bottled water). We’d search our handy maps but even then the sources we found were dried up. On one desperate occasion I recall a fellow Scout pouring out his canteen. When a Scoutmaster – who was just as desperate for water as the rest of us – saw what the Scout was doing, his eyes got wide and started screaming in very “colorful” language, “what in the world are you doing? We’re looking for our next drink and you’re pouring water on the ground.” The Scout, realizing his error, simply said, “it had a funny taste to it.”

The Scout had water in his canteen so he didn’t need to worry about his next drink. It was right on his side in his canteen. The Scoutmaster and about 20 others were desperate for drinking water. We had been hiking most of the day and we were parched.

One of the many reasons the children of Israel marched in the desert for 40 years was God was making them desperate for Him. They grumbled and complained, wanted a new leader, sacrificed to idols, and took their manna and quail from heaven for granted. There was no urgency or desperation for God.

Sound familiar?

We get stuck and in a rut. We forget God and His blessings. We take Him for granted. In essence, often we have no urgency or desperation anymore.

Thirty five years later I still want to be like that Scoutmaster, thirsting, desperate for the drink of living water.