It’s not always easy to sing for joy to the Lord, is it? That was certainly the case for God’s people in the days after God led them out of Egypt. Yes, God had allowed them to walk through the waters of the Red Sea while drowning Pharaoh’s pursuing army (Exodus 14:21-29). And God had showered miraculous food from heaven on them (Exodus 16:13-15). But when they reached a place called Massah and Meribah (verse 8), they found no water to drink (Exodus 17:1). So even though God had blessed them so many times in the past, they lost faith in Him. They accused Moses of bringing them into the desert to kill them with thirst (Exodus 17:3).

So, how can we keep from following their example? How can we remain faithful to God even when so many things seem to be going wrong in our lives? Well, the psalmist encourages us to remember how powerful the Lord is – after all, He piled up the highest mountains and dug out the deepest oceans (verses 4 and 5). If He could create the universe by only speaking a word, none of our problems could possibly be a match for Him.

But we also need to remember the close relationship God has with His people. After all, those who trust in Christ have a Good Shepherd, One Who has laid down His life for His sheep (verse 7; John 10:11). Yes, we are not only forgiven because of His perfect sacrifice. We are also adopted into the family of God, made the children and heirs of the Father (Romans 8:15-17).

So, no matter what difficulties may come our way today, let us sing for joy to the Lord. Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Instead of testing His patience or doubting His love, let us find rest in Him.

Psalm 95 (NASB)

O Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
3 For the LORD is a great God, And a great King above all gods,
4 In whose hand are the depths of the earth; The peaks of the mountains are His also.
5 The sea is His, for it was He who made it; And His hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
7 For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you would hear His voice,
8 Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, As in the day of Massah in the wilderness;
9 “When your fathers tested Me, They tried Me, though they had seen My work.
10 “For forty years I loathed that generation, And said they are a people who err in their heart, And they do not know My ways.
11 “Therefore I swore in My anger, Truly they shall not enter into My rest.”