(Exodus 15:22-27) --"THE SWEETNESS THAT COMES THROUGH BITTERNESS"
In v.25 things got sweet when God revealed to Moses a TREE!  I'm glad one day in 1976 God revealed to me by the Holy Spirit a TREE!!!  Things have been sweeter ever since!
Often in life, learning lessons is a bitter experience....but experience is our best teacher. You can tell a child repeatedly that the woodstove is hot, or not to stick anything in the electrical socket...but they never really get it until they have been burned or shocked!  Somm of you have been arguing with your children about the dangers life holds; you tell them the mistakes YOU'VE made but they don't believe anything's gonna happen to them....UNTIL IT FINALLY DOES!!!  And, when it happens, they can relate to what you were trying to tell them!  It is a lesson they will never forget as long as they live, but it was a bitter lesson to have to learn. Unfortunately, we all seem to possess this same characteristic. We have to be burned before we can learn!
In this passage, Israel is fresh from a great spiritual victory. They have been delivered from slavery, they have been given a new life and they have witnessed God destroying their enemies in the depths of the Red Sea. Now, 3 days later, they are faced with a trial. After 3 days with no water, they come to a place called Marah. While they were there, they learned 3 valuable lessons. It is these three lessons that I want to focus in on in thhis message.   If everything in your life is sailing along smoothly, then look out!  My parents got SMARTER the older I got! There was a day when I came to my own Marah. When this happens to you, you may need the lessons we can learn right here.  What did Isreal learn at lifes BITTER WATERS?
I. THEY LEARNED SOME LESSONS ABOUT LIFE
A. Life Is A Mixture -Israel had just experienced the blessing, but they must face the bitter as well. Then, as soon as this bitter time was past, they enjoyed a time of blessing, v. 22-23, 27.) I suppose they, like a lot of people in our day assume that once you sign up to follow the Lord, everything is going to be perfect and that there will be no bumps in the road.  But life is a mixture of good and bad -(Ask Job, David, Apostle Paul!) . While this outlook may seem depressing, we are also aware that life has it's wonderful moments as well. (The birth of a child, falling in love, etc.) This is a lesson worth remembering! When you are aware that life can go either way, then you are prepared for either.
B. Life Has A Master - When Israel arrived at Marah, they seemed to forget all the wonderful things God had done for them. They forgot about the plagues, their deliverance, the miracle at the Red Sea. They forgot that up until that time, the Lord had been in absolute control. Sounds a lot like us doesn't it? We will cruise through life enjoying the Lord's blessings and many times we just take them for granted! But, just let a difficulty come and we wring our hands, hang our heads in defeat and worry about what to do! We forget that the same God who was in control in the good day is still on the throne in the bad day! He is in charge of all of life - Rom. 8:28! (The Disciples on the boat in John 6:1-21 rejoiced in His miracles, but when the storm came, they forgot what they had just seen Him do.) Sounds just like us, doesn't it?
C. Life Has A Ministry -God used these times, both good and bad, to minister to the Israelites. What they learned about God in both of these times of life, shaped their perception of who God was and what He could do for them. The same is true for us. Every situation in life serves as ministry of the Lord to us. 
II. THEY LEARNED SOME LESSONS ABOUT THEMSELVES
One has said that life is like a giant laboratory. Every experience, whether good or bad, reveals whatt we are made of inside!  This bitter time at Marah revealed certain characteristics about the Israelites that they probably would rather have not known.  A person learns a lot about themselves when the bottom falls out in life!) They learned:
A. They Were Living For Self - They were only concerned with their bodily satisfaction. Forgotten were the great things God had just recently done in their lives. Instead of being caught up in His wonder, glory and worship, they were totally consumed with their personal needs- (Matt. 6:33-"Seek ye 1st...")
B. They Were Walking By Sight - When Israel's expectations failed them, they became disappointed with God.  Have you ever been disappointed withhGod?     We expect some thing, some job, someone to make us happy and all the time, we never look for joy in the one place where it will always be found! - even in the bitter times of life!  The bible says we are to WALK BY FAITH...(What we DONT see as yet!)
C. They Were Never Satisfied - Solomon tells us in Proverbs that "the eyes of man are never satified"! These people, just 3 days before, had seen the Lord destroy the greatest army in the world! They had seen God part a great sea and deliver them. Then they had seen Him take that same sea and use it to defeat their enemies. When these things happened, they opened their mouths and praised the Lord in song. Now they are standing by a pool of bitter water, complaining because the Lord didn't do it their way, in their time!  How like us! When we are up on the mountain one day, but then a little trouble comes our way and we whine, gripe and complain about how awful life is!  (A preacher once told of a lady he worked with. Had a serious bout with cancer. God healed her, and all she said about it was, "Thank God, for several months, I didn't have to shave my legs at all!" Now there is an attitude of gratitude!)
III. THEY LEARNED SOME LESSONS ABOUT THE LORD
A. He Is Aware Of Our Needs - God knew what they would face at Marah. He, Himself had planned their journey. He knew about their need before they did!...that's why the palm trees were already growing at Elim!  God knows your tomorrow and what you will face when you get there!  He knows of that sickness you have yet to develop.  He knows about that bill that has yet to be mailed.  He is not asleep...He is aware!
B. He Is Able To Meet Our Need - In v.25, Moses was commanded to cast a tree into the waters and, when he did, they were made sweet. God, in His wisdom, had already prepared that tree for the meeting of their need. When they arrived, He was ready.  When Jesus came and died on the tree at Calvary, He was able to make the bitter waters of life sweet again! Through His death on the cross, we find everything we need to have our needs met. 
C. He Has Already Provided For Our Need - Years before Israel arrived at Marah, God caused a seed to germinate in the very place where they would need it. He looked ahead and prepared a way before a way was ever needed....and today, He does the same for us! Did you ever realize that your need, as frightening as it may be, is only the evidence of God's supply in waiting? (Phil. 4:19). You will never face a need in life that God hasn't already met! If that ever sinks in, it will change your life forever. It will totally destroy worry, doubt and fear. 
Conc: At Marah, God revealed Himself to Israel as "Jehovah-Rapha", or "The Lord Your Healer." If Israel had never faced this bitter time, they would have never known this aspect of God's character. Just as Job would have never known that God could restore him unless he first lost everything. Just as Lazarus would not have know the joy of life, if he hadn't did. Mary and Martha would not have known that Jesus was the "Resurrection and the Life" unless they had first known grief. What I am saying is that the Lord uses the bitter episodes of life to reveal himself more fully to His children.