From Stumbling to Standing on the Rock
“I don’t really have a testimony”—I’ve heard this sentiment from many, but the truth is that each person’s life represents a unique story of image bearing. Some stories include a turning point, a before and after line in following Jesus. Other stories reflect a consistent growth of believing in Jesus from a young age. Sadly, some stories still do not acknowledge Jesus. Yet each person reflects a particular, by-name story. Even more, every redemptive family collectively testifies of Him together!
Many testimonies feature one of the big six emotions: sadness, anger, fear, shame, disgust, and despair (Jim Wilder, The Other Half of Church, 66). When hearing of another’s weakness and Christ-led correction, like a life turning to joy from such burdensome emotion, we learn from example and strengthen connection (147). Wilder emphasizes the importance of testifying together: “stories have the effect of treading a path between a big emotion and joy . . . connecting all our emotions to joy is done primarily by storytelling, not by teaching” (190–191).
Moses represents one of the greatest teachers in the story of God’s people, being responsible for the first five books of the Old Testament. Beyond his teachings, His example through the story testifies of strength . . . but also weakness. His last teaching before dying, in the form of a song that he proclaimed to Israel (Deuteronomy 32), features a remarkable revelation tied to his moment of great weakness with the big emotion of anger.
In Numbers 20:1–13, Israel again found themselves without water in the wilderness, and like they did around 40 years earlier (Exodus 17:1–7), they contended with Yahweh. Though Moses was instructed by Yahweh to speak to the rock to bring forth water, Moses struck it twice with the rod, speaking to the people instead. Water did indeed flow, but Moses’ failure to treat Yahweh as holy at the rock meant he himself would not enter the promised land. In Moses’ last song, what metaphor does he employ to testify of Yahweh and “what I have learned”?—”The Rock!” (Deut. 32:2,4). After stumbling at the rock, he reveals Yahweh as the Rock throughout his final song (Deut. 32:4,13,15,18, 30–31,37).
We all have experiences of weakness in stumbling over the rocks of big emotions. Through repentance, how might we testify together not of ourselves but of turning to Jesus, the one Paul identifies who “was the rock” in Moses and Israel’s story (1 Corinthians 10:4)?