Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? James 3:11.
We have spent the last week in Iceland. It is the most remarkable place I have ever had the privilege of visiting due to its vast natural beauty.
One of the most interesting things I learned during our week in Iceland is that their tap water is considered some of the cleanest in the world. Thanks to the country’s natural filtration system through volcanic rock and glacial sources, you can refill your water bottle from virtually any tap, or even glacial streams, without needing bottled water or an additional filter.
When I am thirsty, I am blessed to have clean water to drink, and I know that is not everyone’s story, depending on where you live in the world. But, even in my home in Maryland, I have a filter tap water goes through. Honestly, it felt so strange at first to fill my water bottle straight from the tap without running it through another filter, because the water was already pure. It made me think about how accustomed we become to filtered water.
As I thought about that, my mind went to Exodus 15.
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. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? Exodus 15:23-24.
Marah Is Not Your Destination
Israel had just witnessed one of the greatest miracles in history; they were delivered from 420 years of bondage and they witnessed the Red Sea swallowing up their captors. However, only three days later, they found themselves thirsty after their desert wanderings and standing before waters they could not drink.
The place was called Marah which, in Hebrew, means “to be bitter.”
I can judge the Hebrew people all day long for their negative reaction to the bitter waters, but I know that I would be just as devastated and disappointed after traveling for three days in the desert to only find our the water we finally found was stagnant.
How quickly life can change.
One moment we are celebrating answered prayers, and the next we are staring at disappointment, grief, betrayal, exhaustion, or loss. Sometimes the waters we finally reach after a long wilderness journey are not refreshing at all, they are bitter.
But what is beautiful about this story is that God did not lead them to Marah to destroy them. He led them there to reveal Himself as their healer.
When Moses cried out to the Lord, God showed him a tree. Moses cast the tree into the waters, and the bitter waters became sweet.
What a powerful picture of what God still does today.
There are waters in life that we cannot sweeten ourselves:
- painful memories,
- broken relationships,
- grief that lingers,
- disappointments we do not understand,
- prayers that seem unanswered.
Mara Is Not Your Name
If left untouched, bitterness can settle into the soul. Like Naomi in Book of Ruth 1:20, we may even feel tempted to rename ourselves by our pain.
Marah in Exodus 15 is a geographic name, and Mara in Ruth 1:20 is a self-designation, but both are derived from the same Hebrew root word, “bitterness.” And, in both instances, God removed the bitterness off of His people.
God specializes in transformation.
Just as volcanic rock and glacial streams naturally filter the waters of Iceland, God has a way of filtering the bitter places in our lives through His presence, His grace, and His process. The same God who healed the waters at Marah can heal the bitter places in us. He can take what was once undrinkable and make it life-giving. Like Naomi, He can turn your mourning into testimony, ashes into beauty, and wounds into wells of compassion for others.
Interestingly, God did not remove the waters, He changed them.
Sometimes God does not immediately remove the situation, but He changes what flows through it. His presence has a way of transforming even the hardest seasons into places where we encounter His faithfulness most deeply.
And the tree Moses cast into the water points us forward to another tree — the cross. Through Jesus Christ and the cross He bore, bitterness does not have the final word.
Your Marah is not your destiny.
The waters may be bitter today, but God is still able to make them sweet and purer than any Icelandic glacial stream.
Prayer
Lord, You see every bitter place in my life. You see the disappointments, griefs, and wounds I carry. Teach me to bring them to You instead of allowing bitterness to grow in my heart. Heal the waters of my soul. Take what feels painful and transform it by Your grace. Help me trust that even in difficult seasons, You are still performing miracles. In Jesus’ name, amen.
