04/09/07

Bitter Waters

"Then Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet." Exodus 15:25 [NIV]

Although I am in the Lord since a few years, baptized by the Holy Spirit, I still was going through trouble in some areas of my life. So I asked the Lord what do I do to set my self free? And the Lord gave me these scriptures.

Exodus 15:22-27 [NIV]
²² Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. ²³ When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah. ) ²⁴ So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What are we to drink?"
²⁵ Then Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.
There the LORD made a decree and a law for them, and there he tested them. ²⁶ He said, "If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you."
²⁷ Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.

I had previously read this scripture and used to wonders what type of wood did Moses throw in the bitter water to make it sweet? Was it the acacia of which the Ark of Covenant was made? Or cedar used by the Israelites in their sacrifices?

But, now as I was meditating, the Lord showed me the wood like He showed Moses the wood. This log of wood was not a particular type but a particular log. We too need to put this log in bitter water to make it sweet.

Do we have bitter waters? Yes. Our lives are the bitter water when sin is in it. It is of no worth to God or to any one else including ourselves. We, ourselves do not enjoy it.

What do we do to make it sweet?
Put the log like Moses did into the water to make our life sweet.

What log?
The log of wood which we refer to as the Cross. That is the log which we need to immerse into our life to make it sweet.

God did not tell Moses to just dip it into the water. For example if you are having sweet lime water. You have put lime in water and it is bitter, so you put sugar in it and drink it. Not unless you stir it will the lime water become sweet. So is the case with our lives.

If we want our lives to become sweet, do not just dip the Cross (sacrifice of Jesus) in it or float it on the top for others to see. We need to immerse it down deep and stir with it in every area of our lives.

As you know wood floats on the top when dry and less when it is wet, it is the same is here. It will not be easy in the start to pull down this log to the lower areas of our lives. But as we keep stirring the log it becomes wetter and easier. We too become a part of the Cross dieing with Christ and resurrecting with Him.

Sweeten your bitter waters everyday by stirring your life with the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. And like the Israelites came to Elim a place of twelve springs and seventy palm trees, so will we come to our Elim, which is the Kingdom of God.

Prayer for today
Lord, I thank You for open my eyes to see this bitter waters. I also thank You for make available this log to make my life sweet. Lord help me stir my bitter waters with Your sacrifice on the cross. Give me the strength to apply it to every area of my life turning it inside out, so as to receive the sweetness You bring to it. I thank you Lord Jesus. Amen

The Word of God was given free to us, therefore we should also share it freely with others. (All rights are with God)