22 Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) 24 So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”
25 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink.
There the Lord issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test. 26 He said, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.”
27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water. Exodus 15:22-27
The celebration and euphoria of a God who cares for them didn’t last long! They did what they did best: they grumbled. How could they forget so soon? They were desperate for water, and Moses was leading them. Certainly he’d know where the wells and springs were. After all, he was their leader. But he didn’t have a clue either so he did what he did best: cried out to the Lord on their behalf.
Which would you rather be, the grumbling Hebrews or Moses? Both were doing essentially the same thing, but the recipient of their complaints were entirely different, which makes all the difference in the world.
The application is quite easy today. Often we do the first (grumbling to others) and never get around to the second (calling out to God). We have it backwards.
Part of it is we just don’t trust God to move in somebody’s life the way we want Him to. We think we have the solution they need, but aren’t sure God would answer that way.
What we forget is that God’s way of solving problems is other worldly different and infinitely better than our solutions.