Marah and Elim

Exodus 15:

22 Then Moses moved Israel onward from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water.

23 And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore its name was called Marah.

Oftentimes in our Christian lives, due to spiritual malnutrition, we are under-fed and go starving almost to death. Such is the case of "finding no water," no life supply from the Lord in the word nor through the Spirit. In this spiritually starved situation, we become so weak in spirit. And the manifestation of this weakness is complaining, murmurings, backbiting, criticising, accusing etc. When one is such, he finds fault with everyone, except himself; only he is "Mr. Right?" But this should not stop here. We must seek for "water" to quench our "drought." 

1 Samuel 1:10 And she was bitter in soul and prayed to Jehovah and wept much.

As Hannah cried out to Jehovah in such a bitter and desperate situation, we must cry out to Jehovah; pouring our soul to Him even with weeping. The Lord will then come into and turn our situation upright. Not just to deliver us out of the bitter state but to bring forth Christ!

It is a part of the experience of Christ, in the principle of incarnation, that the Lord allows bitter situations at times. It may not be His initiation but He sovereignly allows it, for some reason. At such times, we must be like Hannah, praying to the Lord with much desperation. This will usher us to experience the cross of Christ. The cross subjectively is the experience of the crucified Christ. We do not suffer with Christ in His accomplishment of redemption, but we sure must experience Christ is His crucifixion of all the negative elements within our being; sins, the world, self, Satan, our old, natural and good soulish man. This bitter experience of Marah through the experience of the crucified Christ will usher us into the resurrection of Christ, the experience of Elim.

Exodus 15: 27 And they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees; and they encamped there by the waters.

After every experience of the crucified Christ we will always be led into the wonderful enjoyment of the Lord's resurrection. Just as Hannah's prayer was answered with the birth of Samuel, an overcomer that brings forth Christ, there will also be the operation of the resurrected Christ in us making us an overcomer to bring forth Christ in our living and ministering. We will become the "mighty ones and strong ones." Hallelujah!

This enjoyment of the ministry of the word through the video-training on the book of Exodus enlightened me a lot; to see thing snot just for myself but also for other saints too who go through a bitter situation. As I was supplied by the Lord's speaking, the Lord remind me of a brother who is very bitter at the moment of the church-life and the ministry. The burden the Lord gave me was to fellowship this matter to him and that he also be brought into the experience of Elim, the resurrected Christ to bring forth Christ.

Lord, when in bitterness lead me to the Cross

That I may drink the sweetness of the Spirit!

Never let me stay in Marah,

Always lead me on to Elim!