Understand and pass your test at Marah, and reach your blessing at Elim:
The Lord will enlighten your way and make your way prosperous. He is good, faithful and trustworthy.
The story of the Israelite’s journey into the wilderness is so enlightening of the ways of God to test, train and reward His people. It was to show them once again that He, as God, can be completely trusted upon to guide and provide for them, to make a way where there seems to be no way, and to help them to see that His words of instruction and ways of living are always for their own good.
This photo shows such one example:
After walking 3 days and then having no water they came to a body of water but couldn’t drink of it because it was bitter. So the place was called Marah. God tested them there. Yet they failed because they did not put their trust in God and it showed by their complaining against Him and His appointed leader, Moses.
He eventually had Moses put a tree in it and the waters became sweet. A bitter-sweet memory. Bitter because of their own shortcomings; sweet because of God’s faithfulness in spite of their unfaithfulness. But it could have been a double sweet experience.
Another perspective on coming to a “Marah” experience is this: Whenever we encounter a bitter circumstance- a place of hardship, we see that God is able to work it out for good. His goodness, sweet to the soul, is available. Therefore, when we encounter God in the midst of a bitter place, it can then become a bitter sweet experience, rather than just bitter. “Oh taste and see that the Lord is good.”
You see, from God’s perspective, He was going to do that anyway, that is, to turn the bitter waters into sweet waters. And if you’ll look at the map again you will see that the next place (just down the road a bit) was another place called Elim- a place of abundant shade, provision and refreshing.
Beloved, God will meet your needs for today, and bring you to His blessed promises down the road a bit.
Simply put, the wilderness is our graduation (or our failure to graduate) from an inner spiritual boot camp designed to prepare us for the real thing: our journey into the Promised Land to possess what God has called us into, to walk in the good work(s) He has preordained for us to walk in, and to obtain what He has promised us.
One major design and purpose of God-ordained/allowed trials is that we, in our relationship with God, become mature disciples of Jesus- mature sons/daughters of God, complete and equipped as His servants to do His will among people- to whatever area He’s called us to serve in.
Paul was someone who knew how to maximize his trials and make them work for him… as well as to work for others: One example of this: Philippians 1: 12, 13-14
“But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.”
Some good questions: In the midst of your trials, temptations, hardships:
- How are you turning out to be… are you becoming and growing more like Christ?
- What good has turned out through the things that have happened to you?
- How have others been blessed through your trials?
- Is it evident that your trials are because of your obedience to Christ and His will?Make your place of testing a double sweet experience, and know and believe that your Elim is soon to be reached and enjoyed \0/