“And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah” (Exodus 15:23).
TEXT — Exodus 15:22-27
Message
There’s a great story about Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the Russian writer who spent years in a cold Siberian prison during the USSR era. At one point, he had become entirely discouraged and decided to give up and die. He planned to stop working out in the field, lean on his shovel and wait for the guards to come and beat him to death. However, when he stopped, another prisoner reached over with his shovel and quickly drew a cross at his feet, then erased it before a guard could see it. Solzhenitsyn later said that his entire being was energised by that little reminder of our hope and courage in Christ.
In our text, the Israelites had just finished celebrating a great deliverance from Egyptian bondage and the unforgettable miracle of crossing the Red Sea. Then, another crisis occurred. They had no water to drink. When they finally found water at Marah, the waters were bitter. Amid the complaints, Moses prayed to God, who showed him a tree, which, after casting it into the waters, they were made sweet. In a swift change of fate, Israel came to Elim, where they had 12 wells of water and 70 palm trees.
Putting together the chain of events from when the Israelites left Egypt’s borders on their way to the Promised Land, we find a mixed experience. It was not a smooth ride at all. Sometimes, they encountered challenges, complained and murmured. Deliverance eventually came; then they sang and rejoiced. The wilderness was a great test of their faith and on many occasions, they failed that test.
Life is made up of opposites. When passing through those unalterable vicissitudes, we tend to find someone to blame for our calamities – our church leaders, family members and friends, the government or God. We often forget the one most important thing – prayers. Praying rests our weary hearts and restores our hope in God.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
2 comments
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I have been in this church since my childhood in fact deeper life is agate to heaven if Heaven is real. I recommend Deeper life bible church to you
Very powerful and heartwarming of the goodness of God