The Lord is our Healer - Ex.15:22-26

The children of Israel had experienced the miracle of deliverance from Egypt by passing through the Red Sea on dry land. They began their journey into the wilderness, and in 3 days they were in a crisis. There was no water in the desert. Sometimes we will experience times of great need in our lives. This was a test for them, for God knew there was no water in the wilderness. The only water they found was so bitter they couldn't drink it. It only took 3 days for the Israelites to forget about the God of miracles, and they went in a downward spiral, from need, to disappointment, to complaining, to bitterness. Their experience with God had become bitter, and so they named the place Marah, which means bitter. A revelation was given to Moses that saved their lives. The Lord showed him a tree, which when he cast it into the water, the water was made sweet. There the Lord promised them, that if they would listen to God, and do what He told them to do, that He would keep them in health, and they would not experience the diseases that the Egyptians had, because "I am the Lord who heals you". Some of us need physical healing, but everyone of us needs a healing in our hearts, so that bitterness does not take hold of our lives. Heb. 12:14 says we are to look carefully lest anyone falls short of the grace of God, and a root of bitterness springs up, and by it many become defiled. The battle against bitterness must be won. Our bitterness is turned into sweetness when the power of the cross of Christ is brought into our hearts. His love and forgiveness is the power we need to forgive others, and to heal our hearts of hurts and bitterness.
In contrast to the Israelites experience at Marah, is the instruction we receive from James in chapter 1:2-4. James says that when we fall into great need and trials, that we should consider it as joy! With a positive faith that believes God is a God of miracles, we do not have to go in a downward spiral, but we can exercise our faith, and find joy in the midst of trials. We know that through the trial we will develop patience, and as we watch God work through this trial, our patience will be made complete and we will mature. Many times I have said to my wife during a time of trial, that when we get through this, we will be better people for it. With a positive faith that believes God for miracles, we will develop maturity in God, and we will not be lacking in the joy, and faith, and hope that God wants us to have.

Shaped By The Word

Pro. 22:6 says to train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. But that presupposes that the parent knows how to train the child. How does the parent become prepared to train the child? In Deut. 6:4-9 we have a passage that gives us a look at the Jewish home and the training of children as God desired it. First, the love for God was to be the all consuming desire of each person, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength." But that was not all. For the next verse says, "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart." It was necessary that the parents carried the words of God in their heart. Then they could teach them diligently to their children, and talk of them when they sat in their house, when they walked by the way, when they laid down, and when they rose up. These words were to shape the family in all aspects of their life. There was no part untouched by these words. They spoke of them constantly, and applied them to their lives in every facet of life. But that was not all. They were instructed to bind them as a sign on their hand, and between their eyes. Some people literally tied little boxes on their hands and on their foreheads that contained scrolls of Scripture, so that they would have a constant reminder of these words every time they looked at their hand, and everytime they used their eyes, they saw life through the Scriptures. But that was not all. They were to write these words on their doorposts of their houses, and again, on the gates outside their houses. They could not walk through a door without having a reminder from the Scriptures. Their lives were continually shaped by the Scriptures, talking of them, meditating on them, applying them, shaped by them throughout their lives. Will we allow our lives to be so shaped by the Word that we look at every situation in life through the Scriptures?