Exodus 15:22-26,
So Moses brought Israel 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. 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. And the people murmured against Moses, saying,What shall we drink? And he cried unto the LORD;and the LORD shewed him a tree,which when he had cast into the waters,the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them. And said,if thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do thou which is right in his sight,and wilt give ear to his commandments,and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee,which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee."
A river can be used to explain the situation that a person is going through. As river is flowing,so it is like a problem being faced from one to the other but do you know that as river is flowing,it doesn't come back,that means your problem is not a permanent one but temporary that will soon pass away.
In our text,the story of the children of Israel was told. After God had made a way of escape from their enemies and also crossed the Red sea,they started a three days journey, but suddenly they became thirsty and couldn't find any water. They finally saw waters but the water was so bitter and they couldn't drink from it. The river was called MARAH, meaning bitterness. They murmured before Moses and he looked up and cried to the Almighty God and fortunately, God gave him an instruction for him to follow and he heed to it and the waters became sweet and they were so happy for this.
This story of the Israelites is just an example of what is going on around us. The river MARAH stands as problems we are passing through. This text is not about the bitter water but for the fact that God had to use the Israelites to change negative situations. We are in the world that many people are passing through challenges,but God is looking for who to used as He has used the Israelites.
Jeremiah 32:27 says, "Nothing is too hard for God to do" are you ready to release yourself to serve Him? The problems in your life is that river MARAH, but He wants you to do His will and obey Him. God's plan for you is to make you overcome all challenges if only you follow His instructions as Moses did. He cried to God,you can also cry to Him and He will hear you.
There are conditions He gave to us if we want our river Marah to turn to joy. They are;
2Chronicles 7:14,
"If my people which are called by my name,shall humble themselves, and pray,and seek my face,and turn from their wicked ways;then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin,and heal their land."
1 Humility: You have to humble yourself so that God can be glorified in you
2 Seek His face by studying His word and paying attention to everything He tells you
3 God detests wickedness and wants you to turn away from it. If you are still sinning, you need to deviate from it and serve God. Look at His promises for you in Psalm 1:1
"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly". When you are not fouñd with the unbelievers, definitely you will be blessed and all problems will varnish. Also He said, "He will heal your land"
The only solution for your problems to be over is to look unto God and serve Him. God has many promises for His children that does His will,you can be among them if you surrender yourself to Him.
In conclusion, river Marah can be used to illustrate "test of faith". Probably the situation you are now is just testing your faith in God. For example, Abraham was tested when he was told to sacrifice his only son but thank God he passed the test and God's promises was fulfilled in his life. Looking up to God is the only solution to every problems in your life. Only for you to obey Him.
Jesus said, "come to me all ye that labour and are heavy laden,for I will give you rest".