DCLM Daily Manna 2023: DCLM Daily Manna 18 April 2024: Keep Trusting Him
KEY VERSE: Exodus 15:23 “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.”
TEXT: Exodus 15:22-27
So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23 Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah. 24 And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 25 So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet.
There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them, 26 and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.”
27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters.
There’s a great story about Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the Russian writer who spent years in a cold Siberian prison during the USSR era. At one point, he had become entirely discouraged and decided to give up and die. He planned to stop working out in the field, lean on his shovel and wait for the guards to come and beat him to death. However, when he stopped, another prisoner reached over with his shovel and quickly drew a cross at his feet, then erased it before a guard could see it. Solzhenitsyn later said that his entire being was energised by that little reminder of our hope and courage in Christ.
In our text, the Israelites had just finished celebrating a great deliverance from Egyptian bondage and the unforgettable miracle of crossing the Red Sea. Then, another crisis occurred. They had no water to drink. When they finally found water at Marah, the waters were bitter. Amid the complaints, Moses prayed to God, who showed him a tree, which, after casting it into the waters, they were made sweet. In a swift change of fate, Israel came to Elim, where they had 12 wells of water and 70 palm trees.
Putting together the chain of events from when the Israelites left Egypt’s borders on their way to the Promised Land, we find a mixed experience. It was not a smooth ride at all. Sometimes, they encountered challenges, complained and murmured. Deliverance eventually came; then they sang and rejoiced. The wilderness was a great test of their faith and on many occasions, they failed that test.
Life is made up of opposites. When passing through those unalterable vicissitudes, we tend to find someone to blame for our calamities – our church leaders, family members and friends, the government or God. We often forget the one most important thing – prayers. Praying rests our weary hearts and restores our hope in God.
THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Stop complaining; look up and go forward.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalm 101-104
Thank you for studying today’s Daily Manna – Keep Trusting Him – by Pastor W.F Kumuyi
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Daily Manna 18 April 2024
