FROM BITTERNESS TO BLESSING!

Exodus 15:22-27

INTRODUCTION: When things seem to be going bad in your life that does not mean God has stopped doing good. In all of our lives our circumstances fall into two types: Those things in our control and those things out of our control: Proverbs 19:21. Our God has a purpose for every one of His children: Our God directs and designs our journey for us. Our God appoints and arranges our lives for us. Our God has a direction and a destination for each Christian. No matter what happens in our lives there are no accidents with our God only divine appointments. When we come to our time of grief and sorrow it is a test. The children of Israel came to physical and spiritual places called “Marah and Elim.” Exodus 15:22-27. Our God if we will but trust Him will take us from “bitterness to blessing” also. Every one of us will be led to those times in our lives we will label in our hearts “Marah” “bitter!” We serve a God Who can and will turn our “bitterness” to “blessing” as we follow Him. We get to choose our attitudes and our attitudes determine if we will pass the test of bitterness and receive our blessings or if we will fail the test of bitterness and remain bitter. There are three things that will help us to trust God to turn our bitter experiences into sweet blessings.

I. REMEMBER THE UNAVOIDABLE BURDENS OF YOUR LIFE!

Exodus 15:22: The children of Israel had just experienced the thrill of victory—now they were about to learn the agony of defeat. They had been to the mountaintop of blessing—but now they were about to enter into the valley of bitterness. When the children of Israel’s circumstances changed—they also changed. The children of Israel were following God’s plan for them yet fell into trouble. There are three basic problems that all of us will face: 1.) There are common problems: 1 Corinthians 10:13. 2.) There are carnal problems that we bring on ourselves: Galatians 6:7-8. 3.) Then there are Christian problems: these come because we are simply walking in the will of our heavenly Father which is contrary to the will of this world:
2 Timothy 3:12.

God was leading His children with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night: Exodus 15:13. We see here God leading His children into a place of “bitterness.” God had a purpose for them being in “Marah!” We are warned that not only Israel had their times of “Marah” but also we of the Church age will have our times of Marah: 1 Peter 4:12;
Philippians 4:6. 2 Corinthians 12:9; 1 Peter 5:7; John 16:33. Yes, our God tests us to see how we will handle our times of “Marah.” Exodus 15:25. Every trouble, every trial, every tribulation that comes our way is a test from our God. Why did God test the children of Israel for forty years in the wilderness? Deuteronomy 8:2-3. Most teachers, teach us and then test us. God is different, He tests us and then teaches us. The test is to let us know what is in our hearts and reveal the strength of our faith: Proverbs 24:10. Will you find faith in your times of trouble or doubt?

II. REMOVE THE UNSEEN BITTERNESS IN YOUR LIFE!

Exodus 15:24: just three days earlier the children of Israel had been singing, but now they were mourning and murmuring: their shouts had turned to doubts. Exodus 15:1; Exodus 15:24 just three days difference. Often we like to blame our leaders for our problems but we are warned not to become murmurers: Philippians 2:14; James 5:9-11. Instead of looking to our God for solutions to our times of Marah, we can become critical about others and our situation: Exodus 15:24. God had a purpose for leading His people to Marah. The people wanted to blame Moses but they forgot Moses was following God: Exodus 16:8. Whenever we complain about our circumstances we are really complaining about our Lord who has led us to those circumstances. Their real problem was not a lack of water, it was a lack of faith. The real question in every test is “Do we trust God or not?” The first question we all want to ask when we come to a time of testing is “Why?” What we should be asking when things go wrong and we are tested should be “What is God trying to teach me?”

III. RECEIVE GOD’S UNFAILING BLESSINGS FOR YOUR LIFE!

Even though God had brought the children of Israel to a place of “bitterness” he was actually leading them to a place of “greater blessing.” God had not brought them out of Egypt to let them die of thirst. God had given them a promise of a Promised Land flowing with milk and honey and God always keeps His promises. Marah was just a stopping place. It was a place of temporary testing. Exodus 15:25: When the children of Israel were complaining about Moses he was crying out to God on their behalf. We ought to have a sign over our hearts that says “When in an emergency—Pray!” Jeremiah 33:3; Exodus 15:25. That tree had been there all alone but Moses didn’t know until after he had prayed that God had the solution all the while. James 4:1-3; Psalm 46:1. God has the supplies to meet any need we will ever have but we must by faith believe His promises: Ephesians 3:20-21. The tree that Moses was told to throw into the water is a picture of Christ meeting all our needs: 1 Peter 2:24. On the cross Jesus took the world’s “bitterness” and turned it into “wonderful sweetness. Our Lord will heal every trouble we ever have had one day: Exodus 15:26. Our God is the God who turns our bitterness into His blessings.

The Lord showed His people what they must do in order to continue to receive the blessings of the Lord in their lives: Exodus 15:25. What was the ordnance and the decree that the Lord made with His people: Exodus 15:26. Here then is how the story ends: Exodus 15:27. God provided all His people needed. God not only had everything they wanted, God Himself proved He was everything they needed. Our God has a plan, a purpose, a place for us and a process by which He is going to carry out His plans and purposes in our lives: Jeremiah 29:11-13. Our God always has a way of meeting our needs and a way to turn our bitterness into His sweetness.