From Marah to Fresh
The Waters of Marah
Exodus 15: 22-23 22 Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the Desert of Shur. For three days they walked in the desert without finding water. 23And when they came to Marah, they could not drink the water there because it was bitter. (That is why it was named Marah.)
I had been having a hard time. I was tired, frustrated, and annoyed. It didn’t seem to matter the effort or time I put in, kids ministry was overlooked and underrepresented. But, you know…I pushed through, persevered, showed up. Because that’s what we do, right?
One day in my Bible study and devotional time, as I was reading through Exodus, God stopped me at this passage, and He said, “You are giving My kids bitter water. They deserve better.”
I’d heard God’s voice before. I have countless examples in my journal of when He spoke to me and what He said. And most of them are words of faith, encouragement, and promise. I cling to those words. They give me hope, a confident expectation of good things to come. But this? There is absolutely nothing more humbling than God to speak a word like this. I stopped and sat with that verse for a while.
I know burnout is a real thing, but this wasn’t that. This was something else entirely. Because I wasn’t ready to quit, but I was struggling. I was in conflict internally and externally. My passion and drive were misunderstood and came across as aggressive, argumentative, and contentious.
I was unsettled in my spirit. It wasn’t that I was unaware of this, but I didn’t know how to fix it so I continued to be my tenacious self, determined to persevere. I was showing up, but for all my effort and striving to push through, God showed me that the fruit of this was “bitter water” for the kids.
Oh I was still saying the same things, preaching the same sermons, praying the same prayers. But those words had lost the power and anointing. And, at some point, it even became hypocritical. So God had to fix at least two things. Me. And the water.
Exodus 15:24-27 24So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?” 25And Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a log. And when he cast it into the waters, they were sweetened. There the LORD made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there He tested them, 26saying, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His eyes, and pay attention to His commands, and keep all His statutes, then I will not bring on you any of the diseases I inflicted on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.” 27Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there by the waters.
In His grace and goodness, He “threw a stick in the water” so it would be sweet for them while He began to work on me. And then He taught me to listen carefully…and He healed me. It was a bit of a process. Re-learning to listen, to hear, to meditate, to pay attention. I heard Him say, “Don’t be overwhelmed by your emotions and circumstances, but let My Spirit overwhelm you.”
I don’t think this song had been written yet, and if it had I don’t think I had heard it, but I could have written the bridge for it…I want to know You. Let your Spirit overwhelm me. Let Your presence overtake my heart. (Jesus Culture, I Want to Know You)
And it wasn’t long before I saw, and we camped by, the Spring of Living Water. He had redeemed me and my (His) ministry. The kids were once again getting fresh, sweet, water.
Which reminds me of a more recent verse God had me meditate on for a while, and I encourage you to as well…John 4:10 “Jesus said, “If you only knew who I Am and the gift that God wants to give you – you’d ask Me for a drink, and I would give you Living Water.”
If you’re weary, if you’re struggling, if you’re bitter, or even if everything is going right in your life, I pray you have a refreshing drink of Living Water every day.
Teacher, Leader, Pastor
