INTRODUCTION 

After coming through the Red Sea, the Israelites were thirsty. It only took three days for them to complain after seeing a miracle from God. We often have spiritual amnesia when a struggle shows up. We forget the big miracles like taking a breath, waking up in the morning, and surviving our worst days. How quickly we complain!

Their surplus turned into lack, and their spiritual prowess showed up. We find out who we really are in lack. The Israelites needed water and found themselves in a place called Marah meaning “bitter.” They had become “bitter believers.” The problem with Marah was that there was water there that they couldn’t drink. When you’re bitter, provision also seems just as bitter as you are.

Miracles don’t necessarily give believers sustaining faith. A sustaining faith is a settled conviction that Jesus is trustworthy. In church, we celebrate miracles, but celebration does not correlate to conviction. As soon as we have lack, all faith disappears that our Father will provide for us.

But even in our complaining, God still provides. God instructed Moses to go get a tree and throw it into the waters. When the tree entered the bitterness, there was a transformation. Jesus entered the bitterness of people and took it on so that we could have a sweet result. He did not just come to give us life, but life more abundantly.

When we are in a bitter state, we have to stop throwing complaints at our situations and start throwing the cross at it. The Word works when we work it. We must be aggressive in applying God’s Word. The cross was not just to save us for heaven, but to save us on earth. Jehovah Jireh is more than enough. He has given us a Word to make bitter sweet. Apply it to your situation.


GETTING STARTED

  1. What’s something small or ordinary that you often take for granted until it’s gone?
  2. Have you ever caught yourself complaining right after God came through for you in a big way? What happened?


LET’S GET PERSONAL

  1. What’s your go-to response when you are in lack? Is it to complain, panic, pray, or isolate?
  2. Have you ever realized you were becoming “bitter” about something? What helped you recognize it?
  3. What’s one way you’ve seen God “sweeten” a bitter situation in your life?


TAKE THE NEXT STEP

  1. What specific scripture can you begin declaring over a bitter situation this week?
  2. Pray and ask God to reveal any areas in your heart that have become bitter so He can transform them with His truth and healing.
  3. Want to dig deeper? Take a look at the following passages: Exodus 15:22-25; Ecclesiastes 2:11; 2 Corinthians 4:8-9; Proverbs 3:5-6; Exodus 15:18; Matthew 6:25-34; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Isaiah 53:5; John 10:10; Jeremiah 31:33; John 16:33; Psalm 68:5; Exodus 15:27; 1 Thessalonians 4:13; Philippians 4:19; Psalm 22:28; Romans 8:28; John 4:10; John 6:35.


RENEW YOUR MIND 

‘Then he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree; and he threw it into the waters, and the waters became sweet. There He made for them a statute and regulation, and there He tested them.’

Exodus 15:25