Bitter Sweet (40 Years of Muttering with Moses Pt. 3)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

For article 1 on “Hope or Hopelessness”, click here. For article 2 on “Between an Army and a Watery Grave”, click here.

With Pharaoh vanquished by tons of roaring water and the Red Sea behind them, the Israelites danced! They sang praises to the LORD and heralded Him as their hero (Exodus 14:31-15:21). This newfound faith lasted about three days.

They hadn’t brought much water along for their journey out of Egypt. Parched and cranky, they finally reached a river in the land of Marah. But to their dismay, the water was bitter. The Israelites’ frustration frothed over, and “the people grumbled against Moses, saying, ‘What are we to drink’” (Exodus 15:24 NIV)?

Frequency of Droughts

Just as droughts are common in areas prone to flooding, spiritual droughts are similarly common after spiritual floods. After God led the Israelites into the Promised Land, idolatry plunged the nation into centuries of foreign oppression. Following the consolidation of the Israelite empire under King David and King Solomon, their children immediately fractured it. And once the Israelites were restored to their homeland in the 6^th century BC, the LORD didn’t speak to His people again prophetically for hundreds of years. Drought following flood is not an anomaly in the way God operates. Some might even say it’s the norm.

Reason for Droughts

This truth may rub some people the wrong way. The prosperity “gospel” teaches us we are supposed to go from “glory to glory”. With riches upon riches and success after success, we’re supposed to be living the #blessed life now.

But speaking on the Israelites’ forty years of wilderness wandering, Moses said, “‘Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey His commands’” (Deuteronomy 8:2 NLT).

In this passage, Moses highlights two purposes for our seasons of drought: Humbling and testing. The greatest danger we face in this world is not disease, physical deprivation or politicians; it’s sin. The pride lodging in our own chests is our chief liability, constructing a fortified wall between us and the Father (Proverbs 16:5). A prideful person cannot rely on God, and pride is nourished by self-sufficiency. It’s only from the wellspring of need that we discover our dependency on our Creator.

Secondly, character develops fastest in drought-ridden soil. Apostle Paul, an unparalleled expert on suffering (2 Corinthians 11:23-28), said we can “rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character” (Romans 5:3-4b ESV). Righteousness is not formed foremost in the soft embrace of health and wealth but in the cauldron of suffering and destitution. The wilderness is where mighty oaks of faith grow.

Conclusion

After the Israelites cried out to Moses, he called on the LORD, and the LORD showed him a log to throw into the bitter waters. Once he chucked it in, the bitter waters became sweet (Exodus 15:25). Similarly, the LORD will transform our bitter circumstances into the sweet fruit of righteousness if we allow Him to instruct us through this season.

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”

(James 1:2-4 NLT)