Dharius Daniels - You're Not Hurting, But You Need Healing

Maybe they were not sick physically; maybe they were sick emotionally. Perhaps all the trauma from 400 years of being in Egyptian bondage had left their hearts sick. I want you to see this. So they reach the other side and rejoice; they’re excited and enthusiastic. Moses’s sister, Miriam, gets a tambourine and begins to dance and celebrate, expressing appreciation for what God has done. It’s incredible! They’re ecstatic until three days later, when they realize they have journeyed to a place where they haven’t had water in a while. They are thirsty and need something to drink. They come to a place called Mara, thinking, «Finally, some water!» But when they drink it, the Bible says it is bitter, which could mean salty. I want you all to catch this: they are going days without water, and then they see what they think will quench their thirst, only to find it is too salty. They must have felt teased. I know you’ve never felt teased by God, but let me talk to the seven people in the room and the seven people online who are thinking, «Okay, it’s finally about to happen,» only to find it is salty. «Oh, okay! God has finally brought me to my expected end,» but it’s like, «Nah, that ain’t it.» You might be thinking, «But I thought this was finally going to be my breakthrough,» and He says, «Nah, that ain’t it.»

Can you imagine how they reacted before they drank the water? They saw the water, probably started running, hugging each other, and celebrating. They were so happy, texting people, «I knew God was going to do it! I knew God was going to work it out. See, I was worried about it, and I knew God was.» And now they run to the water and taste it, saying, «This is bitter,» and it’s salty. The text says the object of their ire and anger becomes Moses. They become upset with him because they’re disappointed in their circumstances. As I was meditating on this story, I saw some exegetical and metaphorical implications that need to be considered. They were expecting that water to be drinkable, and it wasn’t. There was an internal need they thought was about to be met that wasn’t fulfilled. As a result of that internal need not being met, they felt disappointment. Because this disappointment was not managed properly, it turned into bitterness. They became bitter toward Moses, who is not the real person they’re upset with. Since they didn’t feel comfortable expressing how upset they were with God, they projected their feelings onto Moses.

Let me say this one more time: there’s a need they wanted met internally that did not get satisfied. They dealt with disappointment, and because this disappointment was not managed properly, it became bitterness. Bitterness results from unresolved disappointment—disappointment that is unresolved even though it may not be causing pain. Don’t confuse bitterness with anger; they are not always the same thing. They express this toward Moses, while they’re really upset with God, feeling, «I need something, and I don’t think you’re providing it. I don’t understand why you have me out here like this. We’re all out in this wilderness, following Moses, and now I’m out here. I ain’t going back, but I don’t know what to do. You’ve got me out here, and my disappointment has me feeling salty.»

I began to think about the implications of this for those of us in this room, because God gives Moses instructions. He says, «I’m going to give you a strategy: take wood and put it in the water. I don’t have to change your location to change your situation. I’m going to tell you what to throw into the bitter water. I don’t even have time to make it sweet.» Sometimes you think you have to change your location to change your situation. Sometimes you believe you need to change partners to improve the relationship, but God is saying, «No, it can be bitter in one season, but I can show you what to throw in it. If you throw the right thing in, I can turn bitter water into sweet water. I can turn what was giving you tears of sorrow into tears of joy.»

I want you to see this, family—don’t miss this. So he does this, they drink, and then God says something that seems unrelated to their circumstance. He gives them water and says, «If you will listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in His eyes; if you pay attention to His commands and decrees, I will not bring any of the diseases on you that I brought against the Egyptians, for I am the Lord who heals you.» I’m thinking, why are you talking about healing when their issue is thirst? Logically, one might expect Him to say, «I’m the Lord God who provides, ” but that’s not what He says.

Their issue is thirst, yet He is talking to them about healing. I’m like, „Nobody’s sick; nobody’s dealing with sickness. Why are you using this situation to give us a revelation that you’re The God Who Heals?“ Maybe it’s because they were sick. Maybe they were not physically sick; perhaps they were emotionally sick. All the trauma from 400 years of being in Egyptian bondage could have left their hearts sick, making them fragile and temperamental.