Daily Thought

Following their miraculous escape through the Red Sea from the hands of the pursuing Egyptians, the Israelites journeyed into the wilderness for three days. They found no water so they kept going till they came to Marah, so called because of the bitter taste the minerals gave to its water. After such an escape this turned out to be a ‘bitter’ disappointment. The people murmured and grumbled against Moses with the question, ‘What shall we drink?’.

Clearly, there was a major problem and Moses handled it the only way he knew how - he cried unto the Lord. We are told that ‘the Lord shewed him a tree’. It is not just simply that the Lord identified a tree, but also, because of the meaning of the word ‘shewed’, He instructed him in the use of this tree in the purposes of God. This tree, or bush, had to be cast into the water and on so doing Moses found that the water became drinkable. The properties of the tree overcame the bitterness of the water.

Many of the Lord’s people experience bitter waters. They may have hoped for better, but there are disappointments, frustrations, and failures in Christian experience. If these are allowed to develop they will destroy life and testimony. The only way to find relief is to cry to the Lord and the answer will be found in the tree. As gold speaks of the deity of Christ so wood speaks of His humanity. A study of His life will show that disappointments, failure and disloyalty of others surrounded Him. Yet, these never dislodged Him from His intent to do His Father’s will. It never changed His love and sympathy. His determination to carry on was manifest.

The tree would also remind us of the cross where great waters swept over His soul. A proper understanding of the cross will help us to overcome the bitter aspects of life and make them not only bearable, but profitable. The Israelites found the waters sweet. In fact, the bitterness was still there, but the grace of God ensured it was overcome - ‘where sin abounded, grace did much more abound’, Rom. 5. 20.

Our prayer should be that the sweetness of Christ in our lives will enable us to hold up in its trials and make them profitable to us, and eventually to others.