Bitter/Sweet

I want to touch on something that I wrote about a couple of weeks back: the dynamic effect of the Cross on whatever it touches. The Cross does not necessarily change our circumstances. It does, however, provide a new lens through which we can view what is happening around us. This is the work of redemption vs the work of the miraculous. There is a time and a place for both. There are times when the Lord will remove the obstacles from our life and there are times when He will work on our muscles so we can climb over them instead. Both are necessary parts of our development. Both teach us something about God. Our victory is not limited to the lining up of ideal circumstances. It is so much more powerful than that. The cross has the power to plunge into the thick of a terrible situation and transpose our perspective, so that we can have the faith and strength we need to endure.

The Lord showed me this principal of action during a quiet time some weeks ago. He pointed me to the story in Exodus 15, where the Israelites had been three days without water. When they finally came across a stream, the water was completely bitter and unfit for drinking. God gave Moses an unusual cure:

'Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?” Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink.' Exodus 15:22-25

There are no random happenings in the timeline of God's movings amongst His people. In this story we see a piece of wood transforming undrinkable water into a source of refreshment in their dire need. Some several thousand years later, another piece of wood has the power to bring the change we so desperately need. The power of the Cross lies in its ability to transform whatever it touches. Whether it is the circumstance itself or our mental stamina to handle the circumstance. Whichever way the Lord chooses to work in our individual challenges, the principal remains the same: what is bitter will become sweet when touched by the redemptive work of Christ.

If you've prayed and the circumstance isn't changing, take heart! God is inviting you to drink deeply from His sweet supply. In times when my own circumstances have been bitter, God taught me to feed from Him, day by day, sip by precious sip. As I look back on experiences in my life that were intense, overwhelming or painful, I'm surprised by how often the memory has been cleansed. While the situation was bitter, I'm left with the aftertaste of sweetness: the hallmark that God was there.
He will sweeten the circumstance or sweeten you. Either way, you're going to be ok. Just keep leaning in and let the Cross touch it.

'Trust in the Lord, and do good;

Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.' 

Psalm 37:3