Daily Devotional

-February 4, 2021-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

-From The Bitter To The Sweet-

“Now 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 complained against Moses, saying, ‘What shall we drink?’ So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet.”

(Exodus 15:23-25).

Life is bitter, people are bitter. This was the case of Israelites in the wilderness. They had just witnessed one of the greatest miracles in the Scriptures, and now they are crying out for water. They looked for water to drink at a place they called Marah, meaning bitter. The water there was bitter, and they could not drink it. Those who look for sweetness in this bitter world find only bitterness.

Even Naomi, found bitterness in leaving the place God called her to in Bethlehem, and moving to Moab with her husband Elimelech and her two sons, Mahlon and Chilion. Her husband and her two sons died there. She then went back to the Bethlehem. When she and Ruth her daughter-in -law arrived, she told them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me” (Ruth 1:20). Naomi means pleasant. Her choices and their consequences left her bitter but as we know the story, God richly blessed her, and her life was once again pleasant. She became a grandmother of Obed, and a great grandmother of Jesse, and great-great grandmother of David.

When Moses brought this need of water to the Lord, He showed him a tree. Moses then cast it into the waters, the waters were then made sweet. This tree is a type of the cross of Calvary. It was at the cross we were saved, cleansed, and forgiven of our sins. Only Jesus can take away the bitterness and makes things sweet. Jesus is sweet, our lives are sweet in our lives. The unknown hymn writer wrote, “Jesus the very thought of Thee, with sweetness fills my breast; But sweeter far Thy face to see, and in Thy presence rest.”

May the Lord turn our bitterness into sweetness, our trials into triumphs, and our tears into cheers.

Have a blessed day dwelling in the sweetness of Jesus. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean