When life turns bitter?

Do you know, when life turns bitter, healing is often found in obedience to His word.

I recently saw something that made me realize this in a fresh way.

Because of the cold weather where I live, the ground had frosted over. Early in the morning, if you step outside, you can see a thin sheet of frost covering the leaves, the grass, even the windshields of cars. It looks beautiful, almost magical but it also tells another story.

A leaf that normally moves freely, gives shade, and carries a cool breeze is now frozen in place.

Grass that could nourish animals and insects becomes useless under the frost.

The windshield, meant to give clear vision, becomes so clouded that you cannot see through it. And if you try to scrape it forcefully, you may even damage the glass.

Everything changes, however, when the sun comes out.

As soon as sunlight touches the leaves, the grass, and the windshield, it begins to penetrate the frost. What was solid slowly loosens its grip. The frozen water melts, visibility is restored, and movement returns.

Pause for a moment and reflect.

What situation in your life today has a grip over you, preventing you from functioning the way God intends?

It could be the loss of a loved one.

A quarrel with a friend.

A strained relationship in your family.

An issue at work that left you discouraged or bitter.

Unless you allow God’s light to shine upon those experiences, you may remain frozen in that moment—stuck, lingering, unable to move forward. Over time, that unresolved bitterness begins to change us into something we never intended to become.

And this is exactly what we see at Marah.

After the miracle of the Red Sea, the Israelites journey into the wilderness and come to Marah, only to find that the water is bitter. Scripture says the people grumbled against Moses. Their joy quickly froze into disappointment.

God’s response is striking.

He shows Moses a tree and instructs him to throw it into the water. When Moses obeys, the bitter water becomes sweet. Immediately after, the Lord gives them a statute and a command, saying:

“If you diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God… I will put none of the diseases on you… for I am the Lord who heals you.” Exodus 15:26

Notice this:

God did not remove Marah.

He did not change the location.

He changed the water—through obedience.

The bitterness did not disappear because the people complained. It was healed when Moses responded to God’s word.

Marah teaches us that bitterness is not always removed by escape, but by submission. When God’s word is applied, like the tree thrown into the water, what once poisoned us can become a place of healing.

Just as frost melts under sunlight, bitterness loosens its grip when we allow God’s truth to penetrate our pain.

The question is not whether bitterness will come.

The question is whether we will allow His light, and His word to touch it.

Because when life turns bitter, healing is found not in resistance, but in obedience.