The Lord is our healer. In the Book of Exodus, God provides for His people time and time again as they leave Egypt and travel towards the Promised Land. Right after the celebration in Exodus 15, as Moses, Miriam, and the people sing of God’s deliverance they set out from the Red Sea into the wilderness of Shur. Only three days into their journey they face a dilemma: no water. When they finally find water in Marah, its water is undrinkable because it is bitter. Three days in and the people begin to grumble. This is the first in a long series of grumbling sessions. It’s hard to imagine that they would grumble so soon after God’s obvious working, not only at the Red Sea, but also through the 10 plagues while they were still in Egypt. I can relate, though, because I often lose sight of God’s work when things get tough. There’s no denying that things were tough, as the people clearly needed a lot of water in a place where good drinking water was scarce. What do you do when things are tough and you don’t see a solution?
Moses, instead of grumbling himself, cried out to the Lord. God had a proven track record, so Moses cried out and the Lord showed him what to do. He threw a log into the water at Marah and the water became sweet. God is able to make bitter and unusable sweet and satisfying. God, not only provides for the people, but gives them these words:
Exodus 15:26 (ESV)
“If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.”
The Lord is our healer. When we seek Him and obey Him, He not only guides and provides, but also is able to make the bitter things sweet.
David Bronleewe
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