Marah Is Not The End Of Life's Journey. Series

MARAH IS NOT THE END OF LIFE’S JOURNEY.

“And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they [were] bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, [which] when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them.”(Ex.15:23-25).

Beloved people at one time or the other we all come to a place of Marah (bitter).but then bitter or better, is really our choice. We cannot choose what comes to us, but we can choose how we respond to it, and that is what determines whether we become better or bitter. Have you seen when the bridal couple walk up the isle before the Pastor, they make the vows, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse. that is better or bitter. See that? we will stick together. In this world we will have tribulations, and these come to prove us, of what metal we are made of. Life just has some bitterness built in to it. Everyone comes to bitter waters at some point in their lives. Death of a loved one. Sickness, bankruptcy, divorce, false accusations, rejection. Misconception. We all will face Marah's in our lives, whether we are Christians or not. but it all depends on our response, you don’t have to drink bitter waters. see they all grumbled, had not Moses prayed, they would have drunk the bitter waters. never grumble and gripe, for if you are a child of God,you have God for you, to change your bitterness in to sweetness. He has promised never to leave us nor forsake us.The waters were bitter and they could not drink of it.

This means there was no pleasure no joy, no strength, no refreshment, from or in that circumstance. there were two possible responses to this, either murmur and complain or being to resent and blame God. or then Praise God,worship him, not because of the situation but in spite of it. If you begin to worship God,and understand the plan of God,everything will be changed God will bring you finally to Elim. Be like Habakkuk who said. Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. (Hab.3:17, 18).Let us not be like Naomi who hastily blamed God, and had to repent leisurely. Here is the danger we all face, blaming God for our bitter waters, When we begin to blame God for our bitter waters, then bitterness begins to set into our own lives, Naomi had identified herself with her bitter waters. When you blame God, then you separate yourself from his comfort and grace to sustain you through your bitter waters. Let us learn from Job who responded correctly when he was brought before the bitter waters of Marah, how his end was greater than his former. Let us be like Joseph, he said (the devil meant if for evil but the lord meant it for good, to save much people alive as it is this day).Joseph went through bitter waters, but he didn’t allow them to make him bitter, but instead they actually served to make him better. Bitter waters teach us more about ourselves than anything else in life, When we are under the pressure then the deepest parts of the self nature come to the surface, this is very painful. (Like Peter we think we know ourselves and how strong we are) but when the pressure is on we see how weak and undependable and unstable and fearful we really are. These are truly bitter waters but they bring us back to Jesus because only he can deliver from the self life, Any one who has been through the process will thank God for even the bitter waters because it was there we learned to put no confidence in the flesh and lean completely on the Lord. And this is How our God makes even bitter things sweet, and we become better When God is our Travel Agent. Is it wrong to meet bitter waters?No.is it wrong to be disappointed? Yes. for God himself had led them there, as part of his developmental and testing program. Bitter circumstances doesn’t mean we have to complain bitterly. Look to God. Some think they should never come across Marah. if that be your goal in life, then the best thing for you to do, is don’t take a journey with God. for traveling with God includes responsibilities and testings.That is why the Jews have it written …"And they journeyed three days in the desert, empty of instruction, and found no water.” So let us rejoice and praise God. But don’t look down upon Israel too hard too. for it took them three days to turn in to bitterness. for some it takes only 3 hours in the wilderness to find bitterness, for others they lose their praise and forget their God by the time they reach church. So keeping all this mind shall we get a few insights from this passage for our learning?