The Bitter Waters of Marah Were Made Sweet

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Do you complain that you are suffering some bitter situations right now? For the Christian - God has a wonderful purpose for all the sufferings. If one says that God has a wonderful plan for the life of the Christian - they must never ignore that part of it is blessing but through suffering. A similar situation can be seen in Exodus 15:22-27:
So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. 23 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. 24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? 25 And he cried unto the LORD and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them, 26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LoRD that healeth thee. 27 And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.

The situation looks very dire. Can you imagine going on into the wilderness for three days without water? If they all survived that then you can think of this - it's all part of God's wonderful grace. They saw the water and thought that it was time to drink but found it bitter. Talk about the frustration that in God's wonderful plan involves all the bitterness and hardship! They wandered for three days, found water and yet found out that the water can't be drank! You can see the frustration going on.

The situation changed from cheering to murmuring. They saw that God wondrously opened the Red Sea and they walked on dry land. They saw the Pharaoh of the Exodus drown with his army. But now they are murmuring! How fast is it to lose faith in God when things go bad! There's a statement that says, "If you forget what God has done then you will quickly forget what God can do." Did they just forget that God did a wondrous thing to deliver them from the Egyptians? Unfortunately, all they have is their fleshly desires which led them to murmur.

Yet God had a purpose for bringing them to Marah. The waters were bitter yet they were made drinkable without the modern-day treatments. This water was probably having a salty, metallic taste or it wasn't even suited for drinking. The same God that parted the Red Sea would make the waters drinkable. A tree some came which God ordered Moses to be cast. This tree was most likely a bush. The miracle came out of Moses' obedience. Moses cast the tree into the waters and the waters were made drinkable. Do you think the glory of God would be revealed would have they found the spring of fresh water so soon? I don't think so. God's glory was reflected when the Israelites saw that God Himself was the reason why they survived through all that!

Then the next thing happened. They came to Elim which had twelve wells of fresh water with 70 palm trees. They soon laid camp there by the waters. This is to show that unlike what Joel Osteen says about happy, healthy and wealthy - it isn't. God's wonderful life for the Christian is that they must suffer all things as He allows so they will be a testimony to others.

Pastor Ray Comfort also said this in his book "God Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life" which refutes Osteen's idea:
What a tragedy that he thought the precious blood of the Savior was shed simply to make him happy in this life, rather than to make him prepared for the next one.

Jesus didn't die to make Christians happy, healthy and wealthy all the time. Rather, He suffered all these things not only to pay for the penalty of sin but also to show Christians that the wonderful plan of God is anything but happy, healthy and wealthy. Why would suffering be a part of God's wonderful plan for Christians? Humanly speaking, there is nothing "wonderful" about persecution for one's Christian faith. However, this wonderful plan for the Christian's life is that they would see the truly wonderful life is not on Earth but a great reward in Heaven.
Matthew 5:11-12 
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

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