Sweet Water From Bitter Wells
Episode THREE of Five
About a million Israelites celebrated their freedom from slavery. They were ecstatic! Their joy quickly turned to frustration as, day after day, they followed a pillar of fire or cloud through parched wilderness. And then their water ran out. Their thirst dominated their thinking, and soon they became incensed and angry with Moses – and God.
The longer they wandered in the parched desert, the more desperate they became. When they arrived at the oasis of Marah, they were relieved to find a pool of cool, refreshing water.
But to their dismay, the water was bitter, and their hope for refreshment turned into greater disappointment. The weary wanderers became irate. What they hoped for had not materialized; what they expected had not appeared.
In their anger and disappointment, they grumbled and complained against Moses. So, Moses did what he did best: “...he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.” (Exodus 15:25)
In His goodness and grace, God turned their disappointment into a moment of joy. They received the sweet water they hoped for. Their pain found relief, and their frustration was satisfied. But the experience had exposed their lack of trust in Moses’ leadership and in God.
Time and time again, the children of Israel saw God provide for them in remarkable ways: water from a rock, manna on the ground in the mornings, quail for meat, healing from venomous snakes, and protection from hostile enemies. Every time they were in trouble, they begged for God’s help, and every time, God changed their circumstances. However, the children of Israel never changed their hearts.
Pain is a powerful teacher, but we are not always good pupils. God has a way of using our grief as a classroom to teach us about Himself, our world, and ourselves.
Isaiah reflected on pain and recognized the remarkable educational opportunity it provides. He said, “Though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher.” (Isaiah 30:20)
I have filing cabinets filled with notes on every book of the Bible and theology from exceptional professors. I have bookshelves lined with commentaries and Christian books by brilliant and godly authors. I have attended powerful seminars and conferences with outstanding Christian communicators; however, nothing has taught me as much about God as Catie’s struggle and death. Pain is a powerful teacher, but we must be willing students.
Like the children of Israel, our struggles often turn us against those in authority. However, like Moses, when challenges come our way, we should turn to God.
Adversity and affliction will find us all eventually. Your adversity will be different from my affliction. Everyone has their own story, but we all share the same Teacher. Through the eyes of adversity and affliction we find fresh insights and come to know the Teacher in new and deeper ways.
We want the bitter water to change, but God wants us to change. Too often God mercifully changes our circumstances, but we do not change our hearts. Like the Israelites who sought relief rather than transformation, we are satisfied merely with better circumstances when our desire should be a changed heart and a new direction in life.
The sweet water we deeply desire is found in only one place. Not in happier circumstances or relief from pain, but in a relationship with God through His Son Jesus. On a hot, dusty afternoon, beside a lonely well, Jesus talked with a confused and thirsty Samaritan woman. He said, “Anyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever who drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14)
And He is the sweet water we all long for!
