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God wants to Hear your Blessings and your Burdens

March 8, 2026

Exodus 17:1-7| Romans 5:1-11| John 4:5-42| Psalm 95

Exodus 17:1-7

From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. The people quarreled with Moses, and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?” But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?” So Moses cried out to the LORD, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” The LORD said to Moses, “Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.” Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”

There is a wonderful series on Youtube called The Promised Land. The subheading for the show is: “On their way from Egypt to the promised land, Moses and his family struggle to manage the hardest part of their nation’s journey: the people.” It’s basically The Office but set in the Old Testament. At the beginning of the first episode we encounter the Israelites right about the time of our scripture passage. They have fled slavery in Egypt, outrun Pharaoh’s soldiers, crossed the Red Sea and now face a harrowing journey to Israel. Moses has become a prophet and the de facto leader of hundreds of thousands of people driven by faith but living in uncertainty. His role is not an easy one which the series emphasized during the first interview style meeting with Moses:

Moses – Every day I sit down, and people from the twelve tribes come to me with their problems: “There is no water. This water is too bitter—make it sweet! My son is fourteen, and he won’t move out!” Just once, it would be great if there were a line of people taking turns to say, “Hey, Moses, thank you for getting us out of Egypt. We can’t wait to go to the Promised Land with you. Have a great day!”

The sentiments relayed in this scene echo much of what we see in Exodus 17:1-7. The Israelites question Moses and test God – their doubt and distrust is not hidden. Normally this passage is taken as an opportunity to extol the importance of remembering God. Knowing and trusting that what God promises will eventually come to be. While I agree with this exegesis, I think that the fears named by the Israelites also provide an opportunity to think about how we talk to and interact with God.

When I had my son last year I was filled with love and gratitude. I felt beyond blessed that I had a happy and healthy baby. But, like many new moms, I faced periods of deep mental distress. I would replay horrible scenarios of something happening to my son over and over in my head and when the sun went down, and it was my time to be alone with the baby, I would be overcome with feelings of fear and dread. While I spoke about these struggles to those closest to me as well as a postpartum therapist, I was afraid to bring these problems to God. I was worried that if I complained or felt depressed I would seem ungrateful for the amazing gift that I had been given, ultimately leading to some vengeful act from God. At the time I couldn’t articulate this fear as it almost felt like superstition. I couldn’t have imagined talking to God in the way that the Israelites did. Putting their fears out there even after God had taken them out of Egypt and saved them from slavery.

It wasn’t until I started spiritual direction about six months after giving birth that I realized what I had been holding back. In relaying a particularly rough few days of sleep regression and what felt like a perpetually crying baby, I said to my spiritual director, “this is really hard and I don’t know how long I can do this”. Her response was, “have you brought this to God?” At that moment I realized I hadn’t. As we spoke more I began to see all that I had been holding back from God due to the fear of retribution. I had created this wrathful God during a time of deep uncertainty – something that at any other time I would never believe. Over our next few sessions my spiritual director worked with me on bringing my problems to God. Saying things like, “hey God, today my son stepped in his dirty diaper and crawled through the living room and the kittens knocked over the dinner I made and I’m worried about getting a job and if all of this was the right decision”. Like the Israelites, I questioned and I had doubts. Believing in God requires us to lay out our full and vulnerable selves. In doing this we open ourselves up to a God who will walk through the mess, who can handle tough questions, and loves us even through our doubts.

So, while Moses in The Promised Land reminds us that gratitude is appreciated, don’t let it hold you back from exposing your full self (blessings and burdens) to God.

Victoria Strang