THE CROSS HAS MADE A WAY...
Exodus 15:23-25 New King James Version (NKJV)
23 Now when they( The Israelites) came to Marah, they could not drink 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.
There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He TESTED them.
There are so many wonderful stories about the way the Lord took care of the Israelites when they were wandering in the wilderness on the way to the promised land… Over and over again, situations arose that were scary, terrifying, and life-threatening for these people. “But God always goes ahead of us, He has a plan in place and He always rescues us...He shows up when we cry out to him… When we fully trust him. When Moses cried out to God, God provided…MIRACLES HAPPENED!
God always makes a way ... The people were parched, dehydrated, and in dire need of freshwater..
God already knew that the water would be bitter..God already anticipated the need. Do you think that God was shocked or surprised that the water was bitter and unfit to drink? .. What is interesting to me, if you think about this being a desert, HOW AND WHY WAS A TREE GROWING IN THE DRY WASTELAND.?
God knew that the waters would be bitter and unsuitable to drink… But notice that there was a TREE.. Yes...A tree was somehow growing in the middle of the desert, in the middle of the dry, parched, wasteland.. God had already provided that tree… And God has already provided the tree we all need today, (JESUS ON THE CROSS, NAILED TO A TREE!)
Of course God could’ve already made that stream to be freshwater before they even approached it.
But God wants us to cry out to him in times of trouble, a fresh stream would have been expected and God would not have gotten the glory.., God wants to show us that his hand can rescue us and God wants us to take a leap of faith and to trust him and sometimes that requires action on our part… Imagine Moses’s thinking... a tree branch thrown into this water will make the whole stream fresh…? In the natural it seemed ridiculous but the illogical is what causes us to stretch our faith and faith is not always logical ..that’s why it’s called faith. Faith is always in what we cannot see! It also required faith in action, it required Moses to believe that by throwing the tree into the water, that the water would be made new and fresh… It was a process of trusting God at his word!
When we cry out to the Lord in the midst of our circumstances we can remember that he has already sent his son to die on a TREE… This tree, THE CROSS, was already there before we would ever need anything… God has already anticipated every need we have and it’s already been taken care of on that tree… When we throw the tree into our circumstances the bitterness becomes sweet… This tree would also provide well needed shade and a place to rest for these weary people…
This tree that was somehow rooted and grown in the middle of the desert was there for a time such as this..: it was there at the exact time and place that these people needed rest, shade, and freshwater to drink… God had made a way for them long before the Israelites would ever trek across the desert.
The very last line of the scripture above says that place in the desert is where God tested them… God is testing us in our times of trouble... do we run to the phone, do we worry, do we call everyone to complain, do we get angry, bitter, anxious, and fearful or do we go to the TREE and trust JESUS and trust that God has already made a way for us through Jesus’ blood shed on the cross? Have we immediately cried out to the Lord in our times of trouble knowing that he hears us and that he will surely take care of us?
1 John 5:14-1(NIV)
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he HEARS us. And if we know that he HEARS us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
What is your bitter water…? What is your need today…? Throw the tree into your situation, throw in the cross on which Jesus died and has paid the price for whatever you need.
By faith trust your need is no match for Jesus… Do what Moses did and in times of trouble and uncertainty, immediately call on the Lord your God who is mighty and powerful to save… He will supply all your needs according to his glorious riches in heaven… He gives us all things we need pertaining to life and godliness… He has already made a way, he’s eager to bless… He just wants to hear from us, he wants us to call on him in faith and to fully rely on him in every area of our lives…
Remember no matter what you need, God has provided a tree… He provided his one and only son Jesus Christ… Jesus has come to make your bitter waters sweet....
The Covenant that was made on that cross..THE TREE, is irrevocable!
GOD BLESS YOU ALL!
"The LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed." Deuteronomy 31:8
'The LORD your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf...Deuteronomy 1:30
You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. Psa 139:5 (NLT)
For the LORD will go before you, And the God of Israel will be your rear guard. Is 52:12
I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. Isa 45:2
To Him who led His people through the wilderness, For His lovingkindness is everlasting;Psa 136:16
