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.
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.
24 And the people complained
against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 25 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, 26 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.”
27 Then
they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm
trees; so they camped there by the waters (Exodus 15: 22-27)
After God saved them from Pharaoh’s armies at the Red Sea, the
children of Israel were exuberant. Led
by Moses and Miriam, they sang and danced with joy. They were free, safe, and on their way to a land
of milk and honey. They marched into the
desert and kept marching for three days without water, but they didn’t
complain. Finally the dehydrated lines
of hopeful Jews sighted an oasis. But when
the first happy Hebrews who outran the company made it to the oasis they discovered
water, water everywhere but not a drop that any of them could drink.
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.
THEN, they complained.
Sometimes, what breaks a people isn’t the lack of hope; it’s the loss
of hope.
Stay in any bad situation long enough and if the abuse is consistent, you
get acclimated. You either convince yourself that it’s not really that bad, or
you rationalize the pain as the acceptable price for whatever good you draw out
of your life, OR you tell yourself that salvation is coming. You just have to hold on until your change
comes. So you don’t complain.
But if rescue shows up and then leaves without you, if escape is in
your grasp but slips away, if you experience the fulness of real hope that
turns to disappointment ---- it’s enough to sever one’s sanity.
Israel didn’t complain during the long, dry walk in the desert. They held onto hope. But when the water turned t out to be undrinkable,
when hope turned to disappointment, they snapped.
And the people complained
against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”
Their hopes had been raised and dashed and they were so angry, so
bitter that they named the location Marah which means “bitter.”
Undrinkable water after 3 days with no water is a major problem. But, the presence of a problem isn’t a
problem; only the absence of a solution is a problem.
You may have gotten the job you prayed for and found yourself in a
bitter work environment.
You may be in the marriage God ordained for you but not be quite as
happy as you’d dreamed.
You may have been born again by the redeeming power of Jesus but temptation
and trouble is stealing the peace you were promised.
The blessing for which you’d hope may have turned out to be so much
trouble that you feel bitter.
Now look to God and let Him direct your path and your line of
sight. What does God see in your
situation that you don’t?
At the waters of Marah, Moses set his attention on God. 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.
By itself, the water was another problem, but God hadn’t only provided
a spring. He’d also provided a tree, and taken together, the water-tree combination
wasn’t a problem. It was a solution, a
sweet, sweet solution for every thirsty every man, woman, child, and animal among
the children of Israel.
What does God want to show you in your situation that you hadn’t noticed
because you were so absorbed by the problem?
Let go of your bitterness and give your attention to the Savior who brought
you this far. Let God redirect your focus
to include the full package He has provided.
See the opportunities that all those conniving coworkers unwittingly
leave on the table for you because they’re too busy playing social games. See the ways you can grow into
your best self when you stop expecting your spouse to MAKE happy (which is the
same as expecting your spouse to make you be happy). See on the banks of the living waters of your
salvation the tree of A life that you can live now, positively doing greater
works instead of passively waiting for God to remake the world around you.
Maybe the ingredients for turning your bitter situation into a sweet
blessing are already available. Maybe
they’ve always been available. Maybe you
just need to let God show you what you’ve been overlooking.
That would be pretty sweet, huh?
Romans 5:5 Now hope
does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts
by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
---Anderson T. Graves II is a writer, community organizer and
consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.
Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Bailey Tabernacle CME
Church in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He writes the popular blog: A Word
to the Wise at
www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com
Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves
Follow me on twitter @AndersonTGraves
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