10-6-2014

 Good Morning All,

         Exodus 15: 25a; “And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.”

      “Sweet Water.”  This was one of the most important things for the settlers of the plains to find.  It meant that they, and their animals, could survive.  Some water would be poisonous but often times it would just be brackish and bitter usually because of a high alkali salt content.  This may have been what happened to the Israelites in our story.  The Israelites were in the wilderness after leaving Egypt.  They were thirsty and they came to a place they called Marah.  The name means “bitter” or “bitter water.”  The Israelites did what they would do often; they grumbled against Moses.

     It is always kind of interesting.  The Israelites had just crossed the Red Sea and saw how God had protected them from Pharaoh’s army.  They had just witnessed God’s power through the might of the plagues.  Yet in three days, they grumbled and showed a lack of faith after witnessing such incredible power.  Moses prayed to God for help and God delivered.  God made the bitter water sweet.  He delivered the Israelites, again.

    There are many times in our life when we feel like we are at a spot that is bitter water.  There are times when we experience struggles in life, sometimes they even pile on top of each other.  We may question, we may grumble, we may doubt God’s grace and favor.  It might be struggles with children or other family members.  It might just be a collection of different stresses in life.  A job that is tougher, a crop that isn’t worth as much as you need, it could be a visit to the doctor that requires you to change your lifestyle; any of these can leave a very bitter taste in our mouth and we experience Marah.

    Yet we know that God has made it sweet.  It might still be a stressful event but we know that these events do not define us or really control us.  They twist us, they plague us, they cause us pain and discomfort but they do not define us or our relationship with God.  We are always in God’s loving arms.  We always have his comfort and his promise of eternal salvation.  We have the sweetness of his mercy.  He took our life, bitter from sin and gave us the sweetness of his wonderful mercy for us to drink from.  We receive the refreshing, energizing drink of that sweet water that enables us to go through the pain of the day.  God is for us, making our future sweet with the hope of salvation.  God is for us, no one can be against us.

Father, in you we have the blessings of today and the hope for tomorrow.  Keep us safe from the pain of suffering in this life.  As we do, keep us strong in our faith that we may know your peace, we may know your comfort, that we may know your unending grace.  Be with those who are especially experiencing bitterness at this time.  Help them to see the sweetness that is your mercy.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret