Exodus 15:22 Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. (Moses knew the people were not prepared to engage the armies of the inhabitants of the land due north where lay their ultimate destination, so he led the people in a southern direction to give them time to coalesce and strengthen themselves for the next phase of their journey. So often in our lives, as in the life of Israel of old, after we experience a victory as did the people of God as they crossed the Red Sea on dry ground and escaped the bondage of Egypt, then we sometimes head into a period of dryness and desert times. After the Lord takes us through a victory such as He did the Israelites, He is ready then to prune us and mature us for the next season in our lives.) For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. (After literally being surrounded by the plentiful waters of the Red Sea and having plentiful water from its tributaries, probably still camping close by the scene of their miraculous escape and recovering from their hurried flight from Egypt, now in their desert travels they find themselves without water. Whatever water they had carried with them would have been consumed in the three days since they had left any water source. Although the Lord was well aware of the condition of His people and knew exactly what their needs were, now, once again, they had to face their complete dependence on the Lord even as they had had to rely on Him alone when they had just days before faced the barrier of the Red Sea. Now they are experiencing another opportunity to grow in their faith. Today, the Lord still knows every detail of the situations in our lives and knows exactly what our needs are. Today, He still offers us yet another opportunity to grow in our faith as we find ourselves in yet another place where only He can intervene and supply our need.)
