Exodus, Jesus, and Finding God’s Provision in the Wilderness: Nana Dolce

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Exodus, Jesus, and Finding God’s Provision in the Wilderness

Guest:Nana Dolce

From the series:You Are Redeemed (Day 2 of 3)

Air date:April 15, 2025

Nana:Whatever you’re thirsting for, whatever is a place of disappointment—a hope that is deferred—remember that He loves you so much that He sent His Son to die on a cross so that He can dwell with you. He is a God whose desire is to live with you. Revelation 21:3 says [paraphrased]: “Our place will be with God. He will dwell with us; we will be His people.” This is God’s desire.

There is a love that He is pouring out to you so much so that His own Son would die on the cross. He’s not a God who’s just distant—a God who doesn’t like you—He’s demonstrated His love in the death of His Son. And the point of all of it is to dwell with you, face to face, one day; that’s how much He loves you.

Ann:Welcome to FamilyLife Today, where we want to help you pursue the relationships that matter most. I’m Ann Wilson.

Dave:And I’m Dave Wilson. And you can find us at FamilyLifeToday.com. This is FamilyLife Today.

Dave:So we started talking yesterday with Nana Dolce; she’s back. Glad to have you back.

Nana:Thank you.

Dave:Exodus is what I think is one of my favorite books in the Old Testament. What’s yours?

Ann:I have never heard you say this.

Dave:The book of exit. You’ve got the burning bush; you’ve got the Red Sea; you’ve got—man, you’ve got so many—

Ann:I think 1 and 2 Samuel are some of my favorites; I love David. But I also like Genesis; it feels like a mini-drama. There’s just so much drama in it; Exodus is as well.

Dave:Nana, do you have one? Because you’ve done them all.

Nana:Man, as you’re speaking, I’m like: “Yes, 1 and 2 Samuel,” “Oh, Genesis!” “Exodus.” I love the Old Testament.

Dave:We’re talking about Exodus today because of your devotional called—

Nana:—You Are Redeemed.

Dave:—You Are Redeemed. Is this one of your favorites?—Exodus?

Nana:It is one of my favorites.

Dave:You’ve got 50 favorites.

Ann:Why is this one of your favorites?

Nana:I love the way that it points to Jesus; it’s like a foreshadow. It’s like a sign pointing directly to a greater-than-Moses Redeemer who takes us, not from physical enslavement, but from sin; and prepares us to dwell with God. He tabernacles in us, but He’s getting heaven ready as He’s getting us ready. One day, we’re going to dwell with God forever. I think Exodus shows us that.

Dave:So the devotional goes eight weeks, and five days each week.

Nana:Yes, so 40.

Dave:Yeah, so 40.

Nana:That’s this Exodus; 40 makes sense.

Dave:And yesterday, we talked a little bit about Week 1, which is: “God Remembers.” Where do you want to jump to today?—Week 3?

Nana:Yeah.

Dave:“God Provides”; okay, talk us through it.

Nana:Absolutely; when we get to this part of the devotional, we are post-the signs-of-judgment—the plagues against Pharaoh—and the Red Sea; all of that has taken place.

Ann:They’ve already passed through the Red Sea.

Nana:They’ve already passed through the Red Sea. We see this major picture of Jesus, of course, with the lamb and the blood on the doorpost. All that has taken place, and He’s led them through the waters. Israel stood on the shore, and they sang this beautiful song. You almost expect everything to be beautiful now, right?

Ann:Yeah.

Nana:You’re free!

Ann:In another couple of days, they’ll be in the Promised Land.

Nana:I know: you’re free; God has shown Himself to be a God like none other—you think that they’re convinced—”Let’s just go and worship God, and be happy.”

Dave:But—

Nana:Yeah, we’re still in Exodus 15. They were just singing, and He showed that He is a God who is powerful over water.

Ann:—yes, over nature.

Nana:As soon as they get thirsty, their praise changes to grumbling and complaining. The thing is, though, we’re all shaking our heads; we’re like, “Oh, those Israelites!” But isn’t that us?

Ann:Yes, yes.

Nana:How often my praise turns to grumbling. I have a short memory; I really

do.

Dave:It can happen before you’re out of the parking lot of the church.

Ann:But we judge the Israelites, these Hebrew people, so horribly. But you’re right; we do the same thing so often.

Nana:We do. We do; because when we’re hurt—when that pain sets in, when that dissatisfaction, when trouble/suffering—that can seem more present and more real than that memory of God delivering, and rescuing, and hearing, and knowing, and loving.

And to be honest, these people were thirsty. So in the devotional that I wrote, I used this illustration of a young man named Chaz Powell; he’s an adventurer. He decides that he’s going to go to Africa, and he’s going to walk the trail of the Zambezi River. He doesn’t take a lot of water with him; because he figures, “I’ll be right next to a river, and I can drink from it.” But at some point, he makes a turn and goes into the cliffs somewhere in Zimbabwe. He’s walking through the cliffs—he can see the river; he can hear it—but he’s above the river and unable to reach it.

This article talked about what happens when dehydration sets in. A lot of us, we take water for granted; because we have easy access to water. So we don’t think a lot about how vital water is for our survival. But if you’re without water, really for not even very long—a couple of days without water—your head starts to ache; your heart starts to beat; there is vision problems. You, literally, start to die.

Just imagine the Israelites—they have their animals with them; they have their little ones with them—So, as a mom, if I’m thirsty, that’s one thing. But when my babies are looking to me, like, “Mommy, I’m thirsty”; I’m desperate—

Ann:Me too.

Nana:—to care for those little ones, to care for those children.

There are so many Israelites; they’re tracking through the wilderness. It is hot; their animals are losing pace and slowing down. Their children are whining. We can shake our heads at them, but I think most of us would have started to complain too; we would’ve started to grumble.

Ann:As a mom, you’re right; that’s when that mama bear sets in; we’re like, “I will do anything to take care of my children.”

Nana:Absolutely; absolutely.

What do they do? They look to Moses; and they say, “We are dying of thirst.” They’re grumbling. The passage says that they go to a source of water called Mara; and I can almost imagine them bursting out in praise all over again: “Oh, there’s water!” But they rush to the water, and it turns out to be bitter; and so it’s almost like a double disappointment.

Dave:It is a double; because when you have hope when you’re hopeless—and then that hope becomes a mirage—it’s like not times two; it’s like times a hundred.

Nana:It hits you even harder.

They’re grumbling. And yet, I love—oh, God is such a good parent—I think He treats us, sometimes, like we do our two-year-olds, who are throwing a tantrum. His mercy and His grace is most evident when it’s most undeserved, because we have just been forgetful people who haven’t shown trust in Him. Because what He does is—this is what it says in [verse] 26—He says to them: “If you will carefully obey the Lord your God; do what is right in His sight; pay attention to His commands and keep all His statues, I will not inflict any illnesses on you that I inflicted to the Egyptians for I am the Lord who heals you.” He demonstrates that by, literally, healing the water. They drink it, and it’s sweet water; it’s not bitter anymore.

And then, He does even more. He leads them to a place called Elim, where there are 12 springs of water. He waters His people, and they camp by that water. He is so kind in showing us that the source of life that the Israelites needed wasn’t just water; it’s God Himself.

Ann:Do you think that’s why, when they went to the first body of water, Mara, was that God’s intent to show them that?

Nana:Yes, I think it’s to expose the heart and to remind them: “I just parted the Red Sea. I can handle water; it’s not hard for me. I am the One who heals you; I am your health; I am your satisfaction.”

Even as I’m saying this, I’m remembering there are a few young ladies in my church whom I’ve walked with them for a long time. There’s a desire for marriage. Each year comes and goes; and they’re wondering, “Will this ever happen for me?” I spoke to one, not too long ago, who is just flat out—she’s like, “I don’t think God likes me. This is the one thing that I want; He could give it to me,”—there’s that dissatisfaction, that thirst, that hunger for something that you desire it, but it seems so far away.

Ann:It reminds me of Psalm 37:4 that says: “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” I’ve had women say the same thing to me: “I am delighting in the Lord. My desire is to get married. Why isn’t He giving that to me?”

Nana:Sure.

Ann:And those are good questions.

Nana:They are good questions.

My hope for this sister—and I never want to just throw a passage at it, and say, “Here, take this,”—it’s real; it’s a real hunger; it’s a real desire. It’s just us—when you’re dying of dehydration, and we feel those pains—I think we can acknowledge it, and say: “This hurts God,” and “This is hard for me. But even this, You are still the healer. You are still the Lord that heals; You’re still the One who satisfies.”

In the devotional, I point to Jesus coming to a woman at the well, a thirsty woman who had come to get water. He meets with her and points her to a greater water, a greater source of water—

Ann:—that’ll be overflowing.

Nana:—that overflows. So for that sister at my church, and for women who feel like—whatever you’re thirsting for, whatever is a place of disappointment—a hope that is deferred—remember that He loves you so much that He sent His Son to die on a cross so that He can dwell with you. He is a God whose desire is to live with you. Revelation 21:3 says [paraphrase]: “Our place will be with God; He will dwell with us. We will be His people, and we will be with Him”; this is God’s desire.

There is a love that He is pouring out to you—so much so that His own Son would die on the cross—so I want that sister at my church to believe that—He’s not a God, who’s just distant, a God who doesn’t like you—He’s demonstrated His love in the death of His Son. The point of all of it is to dwell with you, face to face, one day; that’s how much He loves you.

Ann:That’s a good reminder.

Dave:It’s interesting, too, isn’t it?—and you’ve said it so well—that every pond, every well, every source of water we go to, that’s not Jesus, ends up bitter. Even for your friend—every married person would say, “Yeah, it’s sweet; but it’s also bitter;”—

Nana:I told her.

Dave:—”it’s not going to be what you think.”

Ann:You told her.

Nana:I did tell her.

Dave:And then, when she gets there, and experiences that, she’d be like, “Oh, this is good; but this is not the answer. I had the answer, whether I was married or single.”

Nana:Absolutely.

Dave:I think that’s another thing God was doing with the Israelites—He was showing them: “I am the only sweet source of water that’s overflowing,”—what a beautiful picture.

Ann:I like how you say it too; you say: “Like a thirsty person, who is desperate for water, tell Jesus all about it: your disappointments; and confess your bitter temptations. I have long conversations with God of confessing what I’m feeling, and He doesn’t shy away from that.” And I love that you say: “When you turn to Jesus, you’ll always, always, always receive sweet mercy; because He is the living water who satisfies.”

Nana:He is for everyone—married; single with children, without children—we can all testify that He is our treasure.

Dave:How does that relate to both of you? You’re moms—you’re in a stage that Ann was in years ago: you can get tired, fatigued; waking up at night—when you feel thirsty, because you’re worn out, what would you say to that mom? Is it any different than what we’ve said? How does this water, how does this Jesus meet moms? Again, I’m not the mom; I’m the dad saying, “Here…”

Nana:I would give that mom another very practical application. And I would say, “Pray”; so my children have gotten used to their mother praying at random times right in front of them—

Dave:Pray out loud?

Nana:—in the kitchen, wherever we are, confessing the bitterness; confessing the fatigue—being truthful: “This is how I feel.”

Dave:Don’t hide it, yes.

Nana:Even in moments, like my friend—when I don’t always remember or feel like God is enough—I can confess that: “I know this is true; Lord, I don’t really feel it right now. But even this, You’re able to help me with it.” We have to pray.

In the devotional—it wasn’t for every day—but for as many days as it made sense to do, I try to end with an encouragement for the reader to pray. Prayer is such a means of grace, but we don’t always remember it. I think, sometimes, we think: “Maybe this is too small to pray about. God doesn’t care about this little thing that’s happening right now,” “My baby’s crying, and waking me up at night; but that’s what they do. Every mom goes through that.”

Pray, even if it seems like it’s too simple. I want us to be people who pray: “Pray; take it all to the Lord. Confess it: ‘This is how I’m feeling; You are able to help. You’re able to give the grace and the strength. You’re able to change my perspective. You’re able to fill up my cup; I feel dry.’ So let’s pray.”

Ann:And I would say—add to that, too, Dave—first, that is so true, Nana; I’m

“Amen”-ing every sentence. Also, I have a little meter that I’ve grown to recognize in my own life. When my meter of being filled with Jesus, and His Word, and His presence is on low, I’ve realized that my eyes and my heart will go somewhere else to fill me up. First place I will go is Dave, thinking, “Why is my meter empty? Why do I feel empty? Oh, it’s because of Dave; he’s not doing this,” or “He’s always gone,” or “He’s not helping.” Or maybe you become more judgmental; or maybe, you have a “Woe is me,” or a pity party. Or you might think, “Oh, it’s that I need a husband.”

For me, now, it’s a little sign—a little blinking light—like, “Oh, you’re looking somewhere else to fill you up.” But when I go back to Jesus, and do all of the things you just said:

I confess to Him: “This is what I’m feeling.”

I’m in the Word; that water fills my soul up to the point where: “You are enough; You are everything. You are my satisfaction; You are my life.”

All of a sudden, all the other areas don’t look as negative; and I’m not blaming others for my dissatisfaction. I’m looking to Jesus to fill me up so that my tank is full; it’s the water.

Nana:Absolutely.

Ann:It’s the water and the woman at the well.

Dave:Sometimes, we forget; God remembers we forget. I was thinking you sort of hit on it when the bitterness that you’re feeling—because bitterness is sort of the theme today—I guess, is toward your spouse. We talked about kids, as a mom and dad; but when you’re feeling it toward him or toward her, it is hard sometimes to get out of that: “I know Jesus is my answer, but couldn’t you be nicer?” “Couldn’t you come home on time?” “Couldn’t you put me in front of other people in your life?” What do you do with that?

Ann:When I talk about this, I’ll take a sponge, a sponge from the kitchen. When you hold the sponge, and it hasn’t been wet in a while, it’s dry. You could take your fingernail over it, and go [making scraping sounds], “It’s crusty.” And so we think, “Okay, I am just going to spend some time in the Word; I’ll spend some time with God.” It’s like taking a little drop and putting it onto the sponge, and it soaks in a little bit; but it’s still crusty. But then, every day, you’re praying all throughout the day; all of a sudden, that drop begins to saturate the heart or the sponge. And pretty soon, it’s so saturated that it’s spilling out over everything, getting everything wet around you.

For me, that’s my answer: “Saturate yourself with God’s Word, with God’s people, with talking to Him constantly.” Does that make sense?

Dave:Oh, yeah; that’s a good visual.

Nana:Yeah, that’s so helpful. When I do that, Ann, I think what the Lord does is He broadens my perspective. So when I’m focused in on Eric, and all the little things he does that bring the bitterness—and it’s not like the Lord says, “Oh, that’s not true, Nana; you’re not seeing correctly,”—oh, he still does all those things.

Dave:It is true.

Nana:It’s still true.

Ann:He may not even change!

Nana:Absolutely! “Oh, Lord, have mercy; He may not even change. He’s older than me, he’s set in his ways.” But what God does is He helps me to remember:

What I see is that Father, who is tenderly taking his children through the Scriptures.

What I see is that husband who labors in prayer for me.

What I see is that man who stays up, working hard to care for his family, even doing our laundry, folding his little daughter’s clothes.

I remember those things as well.

Ann:—because your heart is soft and God’s given you new eyes.

Nana:One prayer that I’m learning to pray is: “Lord, help me to see my husband the way You see him.”

Ann:And then, my prayer after that is, “Lord, help me to say the things that You would say to him.”

Dave:Yeah, I’m just wondering—because I know this has changed my life at moments when Ann’s feeling that toward me—and I deserve it.

Ann:The dissatisfaction you mean?

Dave:Yeah, yeah. I deserve it; I’m being lazy—whatever—I’m just not stepping up around the house. Like that sponge: I’m not even in the kitchen, ever, using it; and I should be.

Ann:But you do a lot of other things.

Dave:Do you speak those words out? I know you do to God; because you’re honest, and you’re saying, “This is what I’m feeling”; but do you ever speak it to your husband? Because Ann has spoken it to me—and again, she’s writing a book right now about how to do that well—but there have been times, where it didn’t come out well; and it pushed me away. The book’s called How to Speak Life into Your Husband: When All You Want to Do Is Yell at Him.

Nana:We need it, Ann.

Dave:There’s moments when she was yelling it at me, but there are other moments when she spoke what she felt—which was a hard truth that I needed to hear—and it, literally, changed me for the good. It made me wake up to realize: “She’s right; I am not being the man. I’m not loving her like Christ loved the church right now. She deserves it; she needs it. I need to step up.”

Do you do that, at times, even though we know: “Jesus is the answer, but I have to say something to him,” or “…to her.” What’s that look like?

Nana:Oh, as a young bride, I did not know how to do it well.

Ann:Me neither.

Nana:I did not. I do think it’s important—if I hold something in my heart for a long time, and I’m not honest with my husband, it grows; it just piles on—and then, when it does come out, it explodes; and it’s not helpful to anyone.

Ann:It’s created a root of bitterness; and then, it’s ugly.

Nana:Yeah. But I’ve learned that I can say really the same thing, but how I say it produces a very different response. And so I have learned—I always start with prayer—I want the Lord to help me to see myself, and to see my husband, and to give me the wisdom to speak in a way where the intention of my words is not to beat him up; or the intention of my words is not to take on the role, ultimately, that the Spirit of God has in his life: He is his sanctifier. I want to honestly say what needs to be said; and then, be wise enough to let the Lord do the conviction—

Ann:It’s so hard to do that!

Nana:—and to let the Lord do the work. And to actually really love my husband, saying it; because I actually really love him.

I think that we think—if I go at him hard: “I’m going to hit him hard with this, and he’s going to see,”—sometimes, actually going the soft way hits him a lot harder than what I could have with screaming, or with anger, or with bitterness. I think a wise woman, as she grows in her role as a wife, comes to see that more and more.

Dave:You [Ann] are a wise woman.

Ann:Now, I might be a little more wise than I used to be; but just at lunch, I said something like, “Eric, what you doing?!” We won’t get into it.

Nana:But Ann, I love that—because you saying it—it’s perfect!

Ann:I can’t look at her; she’s like, “Yeah, you say it. Don’t let me say it.”

Dave:But at the end of the day, where we started is—obviously, the study is called/or the devotional is called [incorrect title] God Redeems.

Nana:—You Are Redeemed.

Dave:—You Are Redeemed. And this [devotional day] was “God Provides.”

Nana:Yes.

Dave:The water, even in our bitter moments of life, there’s a God. If you’re willing to look, and willing to take a step toward Him, He’s right there to say, “I will provide.”

I can’t believe we’ve done two days, and we’ve only covered one topic each time. I was like, “Oh, we’re going to cover four; and four; and—

Ann:People are going to want to buy this devotional and go through it. Maybe, you’ve heard Nana talk about these things before; but I just want to remind you that we have this great devotional video series that you can go through, and that you can get that at FamilyLife.com/Unseen. Nana’s answering the question: “Does God really see my pain?” We also have her devotional that you can get.

Dave:Yeah, we’d love to send it to you. Just go to FamilyLifeToday.com; make a donation to FamilyLife. We love you and appreciate you. If you do that, we’ll say, “Thank you,” by sending you this devotional, You Are Redeemed. You can do that at FamilyLife.com, or give us a call at 800-358-6329. That’s 800-F as in Family, L as in Life, and the word, TODAY.

Ann:Hey, I just want to pause for a moment and remind you, as a listener—you might need to hear this—“You are not alone.”

Dave: Nope.

Ann:You’re not alone. Whatever you’re going through today, you’re not alone. I don’t know if you know this: but Dave and I have a team, at FamilyLife Today, ready to pray for you. It’s this incredible honor and privilege just to lift your name up to God. So if you need prayer, please, please reach out to us. You can head on over to FamilyLife.com/PrayForMe. Again, that’s FamilyLife.com/PrayForMe. Tell us: “How can we pray for you?”

We’re not kidding; Dave and I have a prayer team specifically dedicated to praying for our listeners, praying for you. I walk almost every day, and that’s when I’m going to be praying for you. And Dave, you always fast on Fridays; and that’s when you pray.

Dave:Yeah.

Ann:Well, more than just Fridays.

Dave:Yeah, it isn’t just Fridays—but all-day Friday—while I’m getting hunger pangs, I’m praying. It’s like breathing; I’m praying all day. And often, I pray for FamilyLife listeners, like you. And like Ann said, “You’re not alone.”

Ann:You matter to us.

Dave:Yeah, And God is with you. We would love to lift you up by name; so again, go to FamilyLife.com/PrayForMe. We will pray for you, and our team will pray for you.

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