Life is hard, and all of us have areas of our life where we have been wounded. Wounded by our family where we felt rejected or that we were not quite enough, even worse, we may have been abused by the ones who were to care for our needs, show us love, not hate, and a gentle hand, not abuse. Our friends may have let us down when we needed them, broken confidences, or spread false rumors about us. Church leaders or Christians may have called us names, told us we were not spiritual, gossiped about our struggles, and even criticized our growth, demeaned our worth, or called our behavior demonic. All of these things are hurtful; they can wound our hearts, slice our self-confidence to pieces until we feel we are the problem, not realizing that Christ is so sad at their actions. Christ understands how these things can hurt us, for He took our hurt, our oppression, our pain, and our sins upon Himself on the cross.
Jehovah Rāp̄ā’-God, Our Healer
The Lord Jesus, Our Healer
The pandemic brought upheaval into our lives, and the world we live in is full of stress and anxiety. Christ will bring peace and contentment to the difficult times in which we have found ourselves. In life’s sorrow and sadness, we thank You, Jesus, that You are Healer. In times when we feel like there is no answer, or when we have to walk through the shadows, we know the Great Shepard never leaves nor forsakes us; we seek Your comfort, oh Lord, the Comforter (Hebrews 13:5, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4). You are the Sustainer that helps us through all our troubles (Psalm 34:19-22). We praise You that there is none like You.
Exodus 15:26
“26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that 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.”
Matthew 4:23-25
“23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.
25 And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.”
The Lord Makes the Bitter Sweet
He made the waters sweet for the Israelites and God, Who is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow will heal you and bring joy. It is so exciting to note there was a foreshadow of the cross when God told Moses to throw a tree into the bitter waters. The tree made the water sweet and Christ on that old rugged cross restored us (Exodus 15:25).
Exodus 15:23-27
“23 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.
24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?
25 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,
26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that 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.
27 And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.”
God Changes Lives
There are many accounts in the Bible where God changed the lives of everyday people, such as: the prophet’s wife, Elijah and the oil, Lazarus was brought back from the dead, Elijah was feed by the crow, the famine, the widow, the famine, and the flour, Joseph went from prisoner to Ruler, Job was restored all he had lost, and Moses was in exile then led the Israelites out of Egypt.
Today we will focus on the book of Ruth, and the widow Naomi, whose name means [delight/sweet] had tragic life circumstances which soured her life, and she became bitter and wanted to die and called herself Mara [mara, which means bitterness] (1 & 2).
Sadly, through a series of sickness and famine in the land of Moab, Naomi’s husband and sons died. Eventually, Naomi heads back to Israel with only her daughter-in-law named Ruth; she walked back to Bethlehem. The Lord restored Naomi’s life in the beautiful account of the Kingsman redeemer where Ruth, her daughter in law and Boaz married through them came the Messiah. The Lord was not content to leave Naomi in her bitterness, and He is not content to leave you in your bitter circumstances, whatever they may be.
Reach out to the God of Israel Who made the bitter waters sweet. Friend, what bitter things do you have in your life that you need Christ, the living water to make sweet? He is willing and able to restore the joy and pleasure in your life that you may burst forth with living water overflowing the bitter and making your life content and full of delight (John 4:14, and John 7:38). Thank You, God, for making the bitter places of our lives, hearts, minds, and souls sweet. We praise you for the living water, which is Christ Jesus.
Jesus the Living Water
What good news that Jesus Christ, the living water, heals the broken places in our lives. Look again at Exodus, where God states, “I am the Lord that health thee” (Exodus 15:26). What do you have in your life that is bitter? Brother or sister, what is there in your life that needs to be transformed from bitter to sweet? God can make the hardened, embittered places in your life change to contentment. God does not always change the circumstances, but remember the same Jesus Christ who gave the Apostle Paul, joy and contentment while he was sitting in a prison cell can bring joy into your life. God cannot lie, and He has promised us that He will restore the years that the locust has eaten (Joel 2:25-32). He is the God who hears your cries and sees everything you are going through. Call out to Him.
Psalm 34:15
“15 The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.”
John 4:14
“14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
John 7:38
“38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”
Brothers and sisters seek the Lord and ask Jesus Christ to show you places He waits to heal in you. God is still Healer and will heal. We thank you, God, for making the bitter places of our lives, hearts, minds, and souls sweet. We thank You Lord, for giving us the peace to walk through hard times with the Comforter. We praise You for the living water, which is Christ Jesus. All praise and glory to the King.
References:
Arsenal Of The King 
Thank you! What a great encouragement this article brought to my soul. May God richly bless you.
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