When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” Exodus 15:23-24 ESV
To fully appreciate what is happening in these two verses, we need to understand the context in which they are written. In Exodus 14, the Egyptians are pursuing the Israelites after they have left Egypt. They are caught between the Egyptians and the Red Sea. They have nowhere to run to and nowhere to hide. But, they have God on their side. This is no problem for God, He simply parts the Red Sea and allows them to walk through on dry ground. When the Egyptians go in after them, God closes the sea and the every single Egyptian is drowned. Not one is spared.
The Israelites are so happy that they compose this beautiful song, praising God. But just three days later, their grateful attitude is abandoned for grumbling. They have left the Red Sea and spent three days in the wilderness headed to the Promised Land. They have come upon a place where the only water they can find to drink is too bitter. Think about this one for a minute. They have witnessed many miracles in Egypt. They have this pillar of cloud to guide them by day and this pillar of fire which guides them at night. They know that God’s is always present with them to guide them. They have just seen the Red Sea parted only three days ago. Yet, they are whining to Moses about not having any water to drink. Philippians 4:6 tells us that we should not worry, but we should pray to God with thanksgiving and praise. Do you think it ever occurred to them to get on their knees and praise God and thank Him for all He had done for them and ask Him to give them water? I guess not.
We are told to give thanks in all circumstances in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Psalm 107:1 and Ephesians 5:20. James 1:17 reminds us that anything good that we have comes from God. Psalm 100:4 tells us that we are to enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! We are to give thanks to Him and bless His name. If you read your Bible, you will find plenty of verses instructing us to give thanks to God in all circumstances. I couldn’t find one single verse that told us to whine or complain, though, imagine that. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that God honors our whiny, selfish, grumbling and complaining. Romans 1:21, however, tells us that they knew God, but they did not honor God or give thanks to God and they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. It goes on to say in 22-24 that although they claimed to be wise they became fools and worshiped idols instead of God’s glory. For this reason, God gave them over to the lusts of their hearts and to impurity and they became evil. Not only did they practice evil, but they gave their approval to others who practiced evil. In other words, they were doomed. It all began with being ungrateful and failing to honor God.
It is so easy to be grateful when we see God do something for us like parting the Red Sea. But, it is so easy to grumble when things don’t go our way, like when we are in the wilderness and can’t find water. When things are going our way, we are happy to praise God. What we don’t understand is that sometimes we have to go through the wilderness to get to the Promised Land. How would we appreciate the good times if we had never suffered through hard times? How would we appreciate the sweet smell of the roses if we had never smelled something stinky, right? How would we learn to trust God if we never went through hard times?
When we go from grateful to grumbling, we are telling God that we don’t trust Him to take good care of us. We are telling Him that we don’t believe scriptures like Romans 8:28 that say that all things work for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.
When you find yourself facing hard times, remember the hard times that God has brought you through. Thank Him for that and trust Him to bring you through the ones you face now. Thank Him for the hard times because we know they just make us stronger (James 1:2-3).
Be grateful to God no matter what your circumstances. Know He’s got this. He will guide you through it. Oh, and just to let you know, all God did was tell Moses to put a log in the river and it turned the water sweet. How easy was that? If you have turned bitter, you can ask God to make you sweet and He will. Trust in Him today and obey His commands. Be thankful in all circumstances.
Have a great day!