22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23 Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah.[a] 24 And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 25 So he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet.
There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them, 26 and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.”
This past two months, God has taken me on a trip down memory lane. Together we have revisited important milestones in my past, stopping at altars I had built along the way as I journeyed with Him, inspecting stones of remembrance I had put up to commemorate His promises to me. Promises He gave me 10 years ago so vivid as if just spoken yesterday! I am amazed at how He has kept His Word from falling to the ground, guiding me, reassuring me, directing me so that today I am exactly where He wants me to be.
This scripture came to me in a prayer meeting one Friday in 2000. I remember clearly as God explained to me how that tree Moses cut down changed the destiny of a people who were weary and thirsty from their journey to the Land of Promise. Bitter waters that spelt death and curse transformed into life and blessing because of one solitary tree. It was the first time, I realized that God was calling me to leave the familiarity of a beaten path to tread the unknown with Him. My life was not meant to be one where I would grow tall and strong to provide shade to many travellers passing by but one where I had to be uprooted and tossed into an unfamiliar environment in which my identity ceased and became one with it. I didn't fullly understand it then and I am not sure I fully understand it now. All I know is that God's Way is perfect and all I need to do is trust Him completely for the journey that lies ahead.
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