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. 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. 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.
(Exodus 15:22-25a)

After traveling for three days without finding water, they arrived at Marah… but, the expected refreshment quickly turned to disappointment when the first to drink discovered the water was bitter.

The first question they asked was, “What shall we drink?”

When we encounter a disappointment, a situation that lets us down, what do we do? After the Israelites grumbled about their lack, God moved in grace and showed Moses “a tree,” or “a piece of wood.”

The tree was there all the time, but Moses needed his eyes opened “to see” the tree of transformation. Just like the cross, present from all eternity; “for He was slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8).

Once the tree was placed in the waters, the waters were made sweet. This is where we begin to understand that God wanted to reveal something about Himself that the Israelites did not yet understand.

In Egypt, they knew about God, but they knew very little about His nature. Here in a place of bitterness, God reveals His heart—not only to heal water—but to heal His people. Yahweh Rapha, as the following verse says, “I am the LORD who heals you” (Exodus 15:26).

It’s interesting to note that throughout the Israelites’ journey in the wilderness, Scripture tells us; “they drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them and that rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4).

In other words, Jesus is the one who satisfies the thirsty soul!

Unexpected situations will come our way. If we choose to look to the Lord at those times, and expect Him to reveal more about Himself in the midst of a bitter place, He will open our eyes like he did for Moses and the Israelites, and we will gain a greater revelation of who He is!

Just like the tree, the Cross has the power to transform every situation, every circumstance, and every relationship… from the bitter to the sweet!

by Debra Neybert, Training Specialist