Leaning on God in Our Bitterness

“Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went into the Wilderness of Shur; they went [a distance of] three days (about thirty-three miles) in the wilderness and found no water. Then they came to Marah, but they could not drink its waters because they were bitter; therefore it was named Marah (bitter). The people [grew discontented and] grumbled at Moses, saying, “What are we going to drink?” Then he cried to the Lord [for help], and the Lord showed him a tree, [a branch of] which he threw into the waters, and the waters became sweet.” (Exodus 15:22-25, AMP)

If you witnessed God parting the Red Sea and were a part of all the rejoicing and worship that happened immediately after, how long would it take for you to become desensitized to that experience? How long would it take for you to fall back into complacency, doubt, or an overall questioning of God’s timing, wisdom, plan, etc?

A few weeks? A month? A year? 

Do you know how long it took Israel to go from triumphant praise at the awe-striking power and provision of God to grumbling and complaining over external hardship? 

Three days. That’s it. 72 hours.

As it happens, that’s exactly the amount of time a person can go without water in a desert setting– which is where Israel was in the days following the parting of the Red Sea and its subsequent collapse over the armies of Egypt trying to pursue and capture them. So if I’m trying to cut the people of Israel slack, then I have to imagine having to walk around a hot, dry, unforgiving climate with nothing to drink and probably very little to eat.

For lack of a better term, the Israelites were hangry. And what do hangry people do? They grumble. They looked for a water source but couldn’t find one, when on day three, they came to a place called Marah– which means bitter. This place had water, but when they tried to drink it, it tasted bitter. It was unpleasant. It was unfit to drink.

Israel’s first reaction was to question look to Moses, their leader, and question God. Why would He lead us out of Egypt just to let us die of thirst? Why would He take us to a place of such deep uncomfortability? Why would He let us go days and days without our basic needs met? 

Meanwhile, the Israelites passed up on an awesome opportunity to bolster themselves inwards by looking to the Lord. Surely, the Lord has proven He will provide. He protected Israel through the ten plagues in Egypt. He set them free from Pharaoh and slavery. He split the Red Sea for them to cross to the other side. They have seen miracles that are unimaginable to ordinary man. They have seen the impossible power and provision of the Lord. When they needed a way out, He made one. When they needed protection, He used that same miracle to wash away their enemies.

So what is a little bitter water to a God that big? What’s a little dehydration to Him?

The fact of the matter is, God could have made water out of thin air. He could have spoken to the hot sand of the desert and commanded an oasis to appear and it would. But He did not. Instead, He let Israel hike into the desert and waited to see what they would do.

Would they be a people who worshiped Him, no matter what? Or would they be a nation that grumbled and doubted and only worshiped Him when He came through? 

The fact is, Israel was being tested. They sang songs and worshiped God on the shores of the Red Sea, and God wanted to see how long it would be before they forgot His goodness and His provision, and He tested them by withholding a basic need.

How often do we do that? How often are we Israel? We’d like to think that after seeing something as magnificent and amazing as the parting of the Red Sea, we wouldn’t so quickly forget God’s goodness. We’d like to think after being a part of such a victorious celebration of praising and honoring God, it would strengthen our faith to remember in times of hardship how mighty and wonderful He is.

But take away our creature comforts– or God forbid– our basic needs, and we start grumbling and asking where God is and what are we going to do. It’s in those moments, we should be reminded all the more that God can and will take care of His people. He will show up for us. Not because we believed enough or had a formidable amount of faith, but because it is His delight to show us His glory. It is His delight to provide for us, whether it’s through a miracle and a tangible showing of His glory on earth, or by restoring us in eternity by bringing our souls to Him.

We should remember that God doesn’t provide for us because He thinks it’s funny to leave us hanging days later when we need Him again. It is His desire to see us tested so that our faith in Him can be strengthened and stretched to better lean on Him in times of trouble. He wants our faith to be unshakeable so that when we meet a test, it would be our first reaction to turn to Him, not to grumble or complain.

For the Israelites, God tells Moses to toss a log into the water and the water became sweet to drink. A place that was named Marah, meaning bitter, turned from a place of harsh disappointment to a place of sweet provision for Israel. The same should ring true for us. With God, our bitter regrets and sadness can be made sweet. In those moments, we can encounter new revelations of our God and who He is. We can know Him better.

It’s easy to say, “Let’s not be Israel because they didn’t have enough faith!” But the reality is, we already are Israel. We do the same things. We always need to be reminded and encouraged to trust God more. So instead, today, let’s look to Him. Let’s remember to rely on Him. Let’s remember that just because we don’t see His provision in the way we expect it, He is still there and He is still sovereign over us. 

He will provide in His timing. He will take care of us in His expert care and great love.