Hard times, traumatic times, pain, chronic illness and suffering can lead us to all sorts of places emotionally and spiritually. They often can lead us to places of bitterness and desolation. Places where our emotions are at their very depths of sorrow, where our spirit feels dry and dead, and our physical strength escapes us on a daily basis.
For all intents and purposes, it seems as if all we are doing is drinking from bitter, unpalatable well where water that does not refresh or invigorate us.
Yet, it is precisely in these times that God act and speaks to us.
In 2 Corinthians 12:10, the Apostle Paul in speaking to the fledgling church in Corinth said “That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” - here we see that in our weakest state God steps up and stands out.
One such event that exemplifies God’s provision and grace in times of suffering and lack is found in Exodus 15, where Moses is leading the Hebrews through the wilderness and they are running out of water.
Exodus 15:22-27 says…
Verse 22: “So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water.”When one thinks of wilderness, one does not think of plentiful water, or abundant supplies. So, the Hebrews should not have been surprised that they couldn’t find abundant water.
It is interesting that sometimes in our own lives that we are in different seasons of our lives (especially difficult times) that we expect what is common in other seasons to occur. For example: we expect healthy relationships and great abundance of resources in times of struggle (like wilderness experiences) when our hearts, minds and bodies are dry and barren.
The crazy thing about water sources in the desert is that they are never consistent, so you need to have secondary sources of water to sustain you. Just as we cannot rely on our emotional state, or the state of our health to feel good about ourselves, or to be productive for the kingdom of heaven. Often people struggle in life because they are being driven by their emotional or physical state, and not relying on the real source of life - Jesus Christ.
Verse 23: “Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah.”
Marah in Hebrew literally means “Bitter”… this means that the place was known to have bitter waters, to not be suitable to drink and use for cooking. And by ‘bitter’ waters they mean unfit for drinking because they were not clean and were contaminated by too much plant and animal matter. Basically, it wasn’t fit for human consumption.
Sometimes God leads us to places of ‘bitter waters’ - places that are not suitable for sustaining spiritual, emotional and physical life - so that HE can do miracles in our lives, and so that we return our focus to HIM rather than relying on our own understanding, skills and abilities to provide for ourselves. However, our attitudes within those situations can be one of faith and life or they can be of resentment and bitterness.
But if you look at the following verses, the Hebrews attitude towards Moses and towards Yahweh - was that of bitterness and resentment.
Verses 24-26: “And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them, and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.”Sometimes what prompts us to turn to God for provision and for assistance is the complaints and needs of others. You see Moses was comfortable in those lands, as he had just spent the past 40 years living and shepherding in the same places that he brought the Hebrews through - but, the Hebrews were used to the conditions of Egypt, and though they were conditions of depravation and bondage they knew how to exist. Being in new places makes us uncomfortable, and sometimes we need to struggle for a while in new conditions before we are ready to be grateful for the ‘promised land’ that God is trying to lead us to.
Even in our bitterness and resentment towards God about our circumstances - God acts for our benefit.
Here in these verses we see God provide water for the Hebrews. By instructing Moses to throw the tree into the water, God gives Moses a way to make what seems like unusable water into water fit for drinking. God provided a means of rescue, and a means of provision out of what was contaminated and diseased by using something that was already present in that situation. Sometimes, God will provide a means for you to overcome the challenges in your own life through what is already at hand.
God used this test to show the Hebrews that HE treats them different to the Egyptians and the other nations around them. God then instructs the Hebrews to hear and obey HIS commands to them, and by doing so healing will come to them as individuals and as a nation.
Just as Yahweh provided that water and healing to the Hebrews - we too have received that in Jesus Christ. The prophet Isaiah mentions this in Isaiah 53:5 where he says… “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Our unclean, corrupted hearts, minds and bodies have been healed by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.
In fact, I wonder if this tree being thrown into the bitter waters isn’t a foreshadowing of the power of the cross to cleanse our sins and to purge us of sins corruption in our lives.
Verse 27: “Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters.”How often is it that we are stuck complaining about the circumstances that we find ourselves in (even if they are legitimate struggles and times of turmoil) - and we get stuck looking through a narrow lenses that are darkened by our own emotions. Yet, we do not live out our faith and look ahead. God is already leading us to a place that is better for us. because we are so focussed on the here and now, and the impact it has on our lives that we refuse to look up and search with faith for that better day.
But, we see here that God was already leading the Hebrews to a place of provision and sustenance. Not just simple provision, but abundant provision. A place of tranquility and peace. In fact, this view is echoed in Psalm 23 when it talks about Yahweh leading us to places of still waters and green pastures, a place for our souls to rest.
So, I pray, that if you are facing times of drought, desolation, struggle and lack that you keep your eyes on Yahweh - you do not know what tomorrow holds…and if tomorrow is a repeat of today…then you don’t know what the next day brings - only Yahweh knows each day from the next. I pray that you lean into the peace that comes from HIS spirit, may it comfort you even as the darkness surrounds you. I pray that anything in your life that seems decaying and contaminated by life’s hardships and by the evil which we battle each and every day - is made whole and cleansed by the power of the blood of Jesus Christ, who died and rose again so that you may have abundant life.