Our God Heals and Restores
Download MP3Welcome to a place of peace, hope, and divine encouragement. This is Joy in Every Step with your host, beloved preacher, retired teacher, and faithful through the valleys or dancing on the mountaintops, Sarita's voice will guide you back to his promises step by step. So open your heart, settle your spirit, and take the next step in faith with joy in every Step.
Sarita Bernadette:Hi, I'm Sarita Bernadette and welcome back to another episode of Joy in Every Step. I'm glad you're here. In our last episode we looked at the story of Ruth and we took note of the transformation that took place in her mother-in-law Naomi. We zeroed in on her feelings of bitterness and abandonment and how that changed as the story progressed. So let's revisit that part for just a bit.
Sarita Bernadette:In Ruth one twelve-fourteen we read, Naomi has decided that her her daughters in law should return to their families in Moab. Remember that part? She says, Turn back my daughters, go your way for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying?
Sarita Bernadette:No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you because the hand of the Lord has turned against me. Bitterness. Bitterness as explained in the Bible Hub's topical encyclopedia is a deep seated resentment or animosity that can take root in the human heart. It is often characterized by an unforgiving spirit and a persistent feeling of anger or disappointment. In the biblical context bitterness is seen as a destructive force.
Sarita Bernadette:It can lead to spiritual and relational decay. The root cause of bitterness is anger. Anger that we allow to linger, hurt that we don't deal with, or resentment as a result of being disappointed, being treated unfairly, or even being deceived. If we dwell on those events, those negative experiences, they tend to become larger and larger in our memories and after a while our perspective is distorted and we are looking for some sort of vengeance. If we choose to hold on to negative emotions and refuse to let go of pain the result can be bitterness.
Sarita Bernadette:I want to circle back to something that I read earlier, a part of verse 12 when Naomi is speaking about her situation. She says, I am too old to have a husband, even if I thought there was hope for me. Side note right here beloved watch what you say when what you see doesn't look good. It's best to just keep quiet. Yep shut your mouth.
Sarita Bernadette:If you find that you can't pull up a scripture or you can't say a prayer, just keep quiet. One's confession in difficult times has a direct effect on one's situation. Proverbs eighteen and twenty one reminds us death and life are in the power of the tongue and those who love it will eat its fruits. Therefore Psalm one hundred forty one and three set a guard over my mouth, O Lord keep watch over the door of my lips. You see Naomi had slipped into bitterness She had lost hope and what fell out of her mouth was a testament to what was going on in her heart.
Sarita Bernadette:The Bible warns against bitterness and gives us the alternative in Ephesians four thirty one and thirty two Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander together with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ has forgiven you. Put away the negative emotions and embrace the positive ones. Beloved, Hebrews twelve fifteen reminds us: See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God, that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, through it many become defiled. We as the body of Christ are to help and support one another as we grow in faith.
Sarita Bernadette:We should be aware of our brothers and sisters situations so that no one is left behind. We should all have access to God's generosity and his glory. So we can certainly take away some lessons from Naomi's bout with bitterness. Now let's get into something else mentioned in that last episode when Ruth and Naomi arrived in Bethlehem. Naomi announced her name change.
Sarita Bernadette:Remember she said that the Lord had dealt harshly with her and she wanted to be called Mara henceforth, m a r a, which means bitter in Hebrew. So we also shared that this name Mara, harkens back to an actual place in the Old Testament. It's spelled different but let's just give a little bit of context here before we go in. Most of us are familiar with the story of the children of Israel's journey out of Egypt. It's found in the book of Exodus.
Sarita Bernadette:Led by Moses, the Israelites escaped slavery in Egypt after a series of plagues. Pharaoh allowed them to leave after that tenth one. It was just too much. They left Egypt and they made their way through the Red Sea toward the Promised Land experiencing challenges many of their own doing along the way. The piece of their journey that we want to focus in on at this time is something that took place right after the Israelites escaped Pharaoh's army through the Red Sea.
Sarita Bernadette:In Exodus fifteen twenty two-twenty seven we read: Then Moses ordered Israel to set out from the Red Sea and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter. That is why it was called Marah. And the people complained against Moses saying, What shall we drink?
Sarita Bernadette:He cried out to the Lord and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water and the water became sweet. There the Lord made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he put them to the test. Verse 26, he said, If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in his sight, and give heed to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians, for I am the Lord who heals you. Then they came to Elim where there were 12 springs of water and 70 palm trees and they camped there by the water.
Sarita Bernadette:Now let's talk about this. You might be familiar with some of the times the Israelites murmured and complained about the conditions of their exodus. Yes, the great I AM delivered them from bondage and they had the nerve to grumble. But we have never done anything like that now have we beloved? Anyhoo time after time God overlooks their whining and provides for them.
Sarita Bernadette:Here they are in the desert for three days with no water and then they come tomorrow. The water there is not to their liking because it's bitter. So they complain to Moses. Sometimes old habits just die hard. And this is so interesting because the people themselves have become Mara or bitter.
Sarita Bernadette:Moses then does something that he has learned to do in these situations. He cries out to the Father for help. God shows him a piece of wood and when Moses throws it into the water there at Marah, the water turns from bitter to sweet. Yet another miracle. In verse 26 God sets up some rules and some procedures.
Sarita Bernadette:He tells the Israelites, If you listen to me and you adhere to my laws, I will not strike you with the diseases I've inflicted on the Egyptians. So there God reminds the Israelites that He is sovereign and He takes them a step further into covenant relationship with Him by testing their obedience. The words at the end of that verse are significant. He says, For I am the Lord who heals you. Listen, God healed the bitter water by turning it sweet, right?
Sarita Bernadette:God demonstrated His power to heal the Israelites from all they had been going through during slavery in Egypt, and He shows them that He can be trusted to take care of their needs right there at Marah. Verse 27 says, Then they came to Elim where there there were 12 springs of water and 70 palm trees and they camped there by the water. Beloved, God wastes nothing. 12 springs of water. 12.
Sarita Bernadette:The word of God 12 in the word of God symbolizes God's power and His authority as well as serving as a perfect governmental foundation. It can also symbolize completeness or the nation of Israel as a whole, you know, 12 tribes of Israel. Then you hear 70 palm trees. The number 70 often symbolizes completeness as well or the fullness of God's divine purpose. So when he brings the children of Israel to Elim, he brings them to a place where he can fully meet their needs.
Sarita Bernadette:There they have access to full restoration and healing. This is the place where God shows them that he can be trusted. This event serves as proof that they can carry with them as they journey on. Perhaps you can find yourself somewhere in there, beloved. Think about it.
Sarita Bernadette:I'll just bet there's a memory you could retrieve right now that proves God's ability to heal and restore. We have so much evidence of his trustworthiness. He is faithful. And consider this: the Israelites had never been free to serve God openly. They had been in bondage in Egypt all those years.
Sarita Bernadette:They needed to get to know their God, really know God intimately. Their doubts, the whining, the complaining, the grumbling came as a result of all those many, many years of pain and hardship. So perhaps we should give them some grace when we read about their wilderness experience. This story is about God being a healer in several ways. After meeting their immediate physical needs, quenching their thirst, then he sees to their spiritual needs.
Sarita Bernadette:He tells them how to live well in his presence and that is to follow his way of doing things. He addresses their spiritual needs by letting them know they serve a God who can redeem and restore them fully mind, body, and soul even after generations of slavery. I have lived long enough to understand that nothing can discourage our God from loving us. He's come into this relationship fully aware of who we are. He knows everything about us and still pursues us, still loves us.
Sarita Bernadette:We serve a God who is ready, willing, and able to demonstrate His grace when we need it. Beloved, there is joy in knowing that obedience and faith can change a situation from bitter to sweet. You've been listening to Joy in Every Step. I'm Sarita Bernadette and I'm grateful you chose to spend some time here with me. You can find Joy in Every Step wherever you listen to your podcasts and give us a follow there.
Sarita Bernadette:Do check out the website at joyandeverystep.org. We'll see you next time.
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