I couldn't sleep last night. I was having some back pain and that sparked the typical sleep issues I have. As exhausted as I was, I decided to try and read. I have been making my way through the Old Testament recently and I came across the story of the waters of Marah being healed in Exodus. When the Israelites came to the waters at Marah, they couldn't drink it because it was bitter. But the Lord made the water sweet and drinkable. As I was reading the story, what struck me was that before this miracle, it says that "For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water." (Ex. 15:22) If you aren't drinking anything for three days, you are very thirsty. Actually you need water soon, or you won't live much longer. God was the one leading them through the desert, and yet no water for them. Why?

I believe God had them in this situation so they could come to a place of desperation. They were dry, they needed Him to come to their rescue. I have felt dry myself so many times in this journey. I am the one who feels desperate for a miracle, wanting God to show up and do His thing--what I know He can do. The waters of infertility are bitter, just like those waters at Marah. But God made them sweet. He healed the waters. He declared, "I am the Lord, who heals you." (vs. 26) I believe He brings us to a place where we need Him to heal us. He wants us to recognize that we are dry without His intervention, without His healing. Once God touched those waters, they were sweet. May He make our stories so sweet with His healing touch.