Scripture:

“Moses led Israel from the Red Sea on to the Wilderness of Shur. They traveled for three days through the wilderness without finding any water. They got to Marah, but they couldn’t drink the water at Marah; it was bitter. That’s why they called the place Marah (Bitter). And the people complained to Moses, ‘So what are we supposed to drink?’

 

So Moses cried out in prayer to God. God pointed him to a stick of wood. Moses threw it into the water and the water turned sweet. That’s the place where God set up rules and procedures; that’s where he started testing them. God said, ‘If you listen, listen obediently to how God tells you to live in his presence, obeying his commandments and keeping all his laws, then I won’t strike you with all the diseases that I inflicted on the Egyptians; I am God your healer.’

 

They came to Elim where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees. They set up camp there by the water.” Exodus 15: 22-27 (MSG)

 

Perspective:

The Israelites walked out of slavery into the wilderness. On their walk to the wilderness, they had an experience walking through the Red Sea on dry ground that would have left them awe-struck. However, that awe was quickly erased by reality. They needed water to survive. The children kept asking their parents for water to drink. The parents had no answer to give. So, instead of realizing Moses was on their side, the people started to turn against him. When they looked around, there was no water to meet their needs. The people’s complaints catapulted Moses into prayer, but it never caused the people to pray. God guided Moses to a miraculous solution to provide water for the people. But, this moment was the start of a test. God was going to test the Israelites’ hearts.

 

The Israelites’ experience after walking out of Egypt and through the Red Sea into the wilderness is a reminder of Jesus’ wilderness experience recorded in Matthew 4. It was in the wilderness where Jesus was tested and challenged to forsake His father. Both of these accounts should cause us to pause when we are walking by the wilderness way. It’s in the times where it is dry and we have lack of support around us that we can be thrusted into the depths of a season of wilderness.  The Israelites had just experienced miracle after miracle in Egypt that culminated in God’s deliverance. Then, as they looked at the path before them, it was dry and seemed like there would be no water or food to sustain them. It is at these times in our lives we start complaining to God, asking the “why” and “what” questions. We might say, “Why have you brought me here like this?” And other times, we may complain, “What am I supposed to do to survive?” Yet, the wilderness is not only full of dry, arid places, no matter what it may feel like in your life today. We have to keep walking to the springs of water, believing that God is the One who meets all of our needs. We always want the Red Sea wonders, but the wilderness way is where our life is formed from the inside out. As you search for what you need in the wilderness, I pray that you find refreshment without letting bitterness jade your perspective of how God works. He is at work, even on the back side of our miracle moments.

Scripture taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002.  Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. 

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About Hona Amer

I help people live life to the fullest. Check out my book, Smart Work U. Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. In order to receive updates, subscribe below.

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