Have you been through difficult seasons in life? Is your life bitter with so many burdens? Are you weary of facing repeated challenges in life? Jesus loves you my dear friend. He is calling you today with His stretched-out hands, “Come to me and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) 

Often, the enemy tries to pull us down by wearying our soul; he uses difficult situations in life to creep in and corrupt our souls with bitterness, grudging and other unthankful attitudes. Today, no matter how much weary you are, you can find rest in God.

“…for I will refresh the weary soul and replenish all who are weak.” (Jeremiah 31:5) 

The passage in Exodus 15:22-27 depicts one of the difficult situations that the Israelites came across in their wilderness journey. As we ponder through this passage, we will learn the importance of resting in God, maintaining a thankful attitude in order to guard our soul from corruption (weariness, bitterness, etc.). We will also learn how to become an overcomer and live a life of faith by embracing both the cross of Calvary and the fountain of living water – the Holy Spirit. 

The longer route and the weary souls of Israelites 

The Israelites came out of Egypt by the mighty Hand of God (Deuteronomy 26:8). They were overwhelmed with joy as well as enormous wealth as they marched out of the land of slavery. They would have taken a deep breath – a breath of relief and deliverance from the oppression of the Egyptians. They were expecting God to just take them directly to the promised land. But little did they know that they are not yet prepared for the battle to win the giants of the land. Moreover, the enemy (Pharaoh) was still following them – which they never expected. 

God knew it all and His plan was to drown the pursuing enemy army completely in the Red Sea; so, He purposefully took them through a longer route rather than taking them via the shortest route. The people started getting weary when they heard about the longer route, but no one dared to speak initially. The moment they heard the news of the enemy following them, they started blaming Moses. But Moses was firm and answered the people peacefully (without any anxiety) for God already spoke to him regarding the plan of the enemy and the victory that God has prepared for them. 

God was faithful to fight for them as He promised. The Israelites were highly excited at the victory that they started singing and praising the Lord (Exodus 15:1). But alas, the moment a difficult situation crept in, they easily forgot the wonderful acts of God. 

Murmuring and the bitter souls of Israelites 

The Israelites continued their journey and were wandering in the wilderness seeking for water. They found no water for three days (Exodus 15:22). Finally, after all the waiting and wailing, when they reached Marah, they found water – such a relief!! Yet, it lasted only until they tasted it and found the water to be bitter. Here arose the real nature of people – they started murmuring against Moses. These Israelites are heavily wounded on the inside– their souls were burdened with slavery and they needed inner healing. 

Many times, when we read such passages, we are quick to judge the people telling,even after seeing the marvelous Hand of God fighting for them, these people are crazy to murmur. But my dear friend, just imagine a situation where you are wandering in a deserted area with no one else to help you; just take a moment and ask yourself: “If I go through such a situation, will I murmur or seek God for help?” 

When difficult situations arise, what is on the inside of us starts flowing out of the mouth. “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matthew 12:34). Our attitude during difficult situations reveals the condition of our hearts. One thing to remember all through our life is that God is not short of solutions to any kind of problem or situation. Moses knew this and He sought the Lord and cried out to Him. 

The Log that healed and the Cross of Calvary 

The Lord was pleased with Moses and showed him a log (piece of wood). This log when put in the bitter water, cleansed that water of all impurities and made it sweet and the water became fit to drink (Exodus 15:25). Once their thirst was quenched, God lovingly gives them instructions and promise. He said, "If you listen carefully to the LORD your God …, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you." (Exodus 15:26) 

If we carefully pay attention to this verse, the promise that proceeds the instruction talks about healing. In the Scriptures, there’s no hint of the Israelites being sick during the wilderness journey. On the contrary, the Bible says in Psalms 105:37 that, none of them were sick when they journeyed in the wilderness. Yes, the Israelites were not physically sick but their weary souls that yielded to murmuring has now ended up being bitter. Nevertheless, God was gracious to heal them internally and strengthened them. At Marah, God taught His people to guard their souls. 

When we read this passage, it’s easier to skip through this just by thinking that it is just an incident. But this incident beautifully carries the message of the cleansing power of the Blood of Jesus Christ. The log represents the Cross of Calvary. As the bitter water of Marah was made fit to drink by the log, when we embrace the Cross of Calvary, the Blood of Jesus cleanses us from all the filthiness in our souls including curses, the ungodly natures like bitterness, unforgiveness, etc.

The 12 springs and The Holy Spirit 

The Israelites moved on in their journey and reached Elim, a place which overflowed with 12 springs of water and 70 date palms. Such abundance and peace amid the wilderness. Now, all the Israelites were in awe and without any question or second thought as they camped there. 

In the Hebrew language in which the Old Testament was originally written, letters and numbers have significant meaning attached to them. The number 12 in Hebrew symbolizes faith and the springs of water here symbolizes the spring of living waters that flows from inside of us which Jesus promised about the Holy Spirit. 

"...Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’ ” He was speaking about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive..." (John 7:37-39, BSB) 

As the Israelites were journeying towards inheriting their promised land, today in our life on earth, we move forward each day toward inheriting the blessings that God has promised us. After accepting Jesus as our personal Savior, the rest of our Christian life is about living by faith with the help of the Holy Spirit.

In our day to day life, in order to stay strong and overcome any obstacle the enemy brings, we need to build our faith by feeding on the Word of God and experience continual washing by the Word of God. The Holy Spirit will make sure that the Word of God which is planted in our lives gets well-nourished and protected even during drought, for He is the lifegiving spring. 

The Importance of Daily Fellowship with the Holy Spirit 

At Elim, God gave the Israelites a foretaste of what He has prepared for them. He demonstrated His love and mercy to make them understand how much God cared for them. But alas, in the very next chapter, Exodus 16, the Israelites journeyed further from Elim and reached the Desert of Sin, and the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 

Now, this amazes us! Even after God was lovingly teaching them and demonstrating His power, love, mercy and care, again and again, they were unable to follow God’s ways. Why? Because they only saw what He was doing but never had a personal relationship with Him. This is what differentiates Moses from the people. When we look at the life of Moses and the people of Israel there are a lot of differences in the way they perceived God. 

Moses had intimate fellowship (habitual) with God. He often got lost in the presence of the Lord and forgot the natural. He lived in the supernatural. He knew the heart of God for he knew God’s ways (Psalm 103:7). He dwelt in the Presence of God which transformed him inside out and radiated God’s glory on his face. Therefore, he could stay calm without being anxious about any situation. Even though he was more responsible than any of those people, he never grumbled. 

As far as the people are considered – they only saw the great works of God (Exodus 14:31). They experienced His power manifest miracles but not the Presence of God. That did not make a difference in Israelites, for they only enjoyed the blessings but never sought the One who blesses. Therefore, they were not transformed on the inside; there was no inner healing; their character never changed; they tend to be “stiff-necked” all through their life. 

The Spirit of the Living God was with them all through the journey as the guiding Cloud. But they never focussed on Him. The Amplified Bible beautifully expands the explanation for Jeremiah 8:22, quoting that the people were not healed because they no longer enjoyed the presence of God. 

“Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people restored? [Because Zion no longer enjoyed the presence of the Great Physician!]” [Exod. 15:26.] (Jeremiah 8:22, AMPC) 

Today, we are given the privilege to dwell in the presence of God and find rest for our weary souls. But when we do not make a conscious effort to seek the presence of God by fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit, we become crippled spiritually. 

When we cultivate our relationship with the Holy Spirit by spending time with Him, we get closer to Him and rivers of living water will flow from our innermost being. Even if the things around us in the natural are frustrating, the Spirit of the living God dwelling inside us will supply us with hope and assurance time and time again – and He will never let you give up. Not only will He show you the way out of the troubles, but you will be bubbling with joy and peace flowing from the inside of your being – because you are full of the Holy Spirit.

“With joy, you will draw water from the springs of salvation.” (Isaiah 12:3, BSB) 

God bless you!