Bitter to Sweet Waters

Bitter to Sweet Waters

After I came back home from my trip, I had to adjust to being back home. I had such an amazing week spending time with the Lord and did not want to leave where I had traveled from. As I washed my hands in my home kitchen sink, I grew frustrated about the hard water running through my neighborhood. After a week of washing my hands in a sink without a filter, I yearned to use a sink with less calcified water.

In that moment, I heard the Lord say:

“I am taking you to a place where the waters are better. Where the waters are sweet. What was once bitter and calcified will become pure and holy.”

I nearly broke down crying hearing this word.

My concerns had already been echoed in the book of Exodus in Chapter 15:24-25:

“And the people complained against Moses, saying, ‘What shall we drink?’ 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.”

As we are building our futures by working diligently on His ideas and visions, the Lord is also transitioning us and repositioning us to new spaces and places. These new places will have exceedingly abundantly more resources in the spirit and in the natural than our current place.

Coming out of the Wilderness of Shur

“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.” - Exodus 15:22 (NKJV)

The Lord is bringing us out of a land that has held memories of hardships and difficulties, and He is giving us a fresh new start. According to the Blue Letter Bible’s Strong Concordance, the word “Shur” means “walls.” This is significant because the Israelites were entering a region that was associated with being closed off and stagnant. In the spirit, walls can represent blockages or closed opportunities (Joshua 6:5 NKJV).

First, He is redirecting us away from a land with barriers and blockages by allowing us to discern that there is more in store. For me, this started as knowing that I needed a new job and that the season at my current job was ending. I kept feeling as if the area around me was drying up, and that there were more opportunities elsewhere. If you’ve been feeling something similar, don’t ignore it! Find out what the Lord is whispering to your spirit.

Secondly, the Lord is allowing us to taste that the waters are bitter and no longer drinkable. The bitter water was an indicator that the wilderness of Egypt was not a good place to stay.

“And the people complained against Moses, saying, ‘What shall we drink?’” - Exodus 15:24

A modern understanding of tasting bitter water is an overall disdain or disconnect for the atmospheres you’re in. If you’re feeling like you want a change in the neighborhood, or as if you need to get away from doing the same routine, these are also examples of tasting bitter waters. These feelings can be very subtle but a prompting from the Holy Spirit to ask about the sudden change of mood.

Jesus, The Bringer of Sweet Waters

“And the Lord showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet.” Exodus 15:25 NKJV)

Jesus has gone before us as an oak of righteousness planted by streams of water. When we follow Him and drink from His streams, all things that were once stressful and burdensome become sweet. I encourage everyone reading this to ask the Lord to heal the memories of painful experiences, the stains of hardships, and to open any hidden rooms in your heart that have been compartmentalized for day-to-day functionality.

As we drink from His waters that never run dry, He will give us the strength to transition to our personal lands of Elim. The land of Elim is a place that represents abundance and divine alignment. This is drawn from the presence of the wells in the land (see John 4:13), which are a sign of God’s overflowing word and the apostolic number twelve—reflecting God’s chosen apostolic order.

“Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters.” - Exodus 15:27

If this word resonates with you, I want you to agree with this word! It is by faith in our connection to Jesus that we will continue to press in and withstand the winds of change.

The Attack of the Evil Report

Anytime we are being prepared for a major migration, the enemy comes in to warp our sight, so that we think that the giants are too much in the place that we are going. I urge you by the spirit, to be aware of this demonic attack seeking to discourage believers from taking steps of faith.

“We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers.” - Numbers 13:31 (NLT)

I feel in this season that the Lord is revealing directions one step at a time and gradually that the larger picture will be revealed. It is even more imperative for us to keep a narrow focus on the steps that we are currently taking to discourage the overwhelm of the enemy. The key word from this verse is that the men felt like grasshoppers. It was an illusion that kept them out of the land. For me, this dynamic has felt like an influx of mental warfare with each step of faith by mobilized actions. These mental attacks can manifest like whispering thoughts that mimic your thoughts or an oppressive wave of overwhelming/negative feelings.

The thoughts can sound like: “I don’t feel equipped to do this…” “Did I miss the Lord’s promise really coming?” “Did I do something wrong?…”

Sometimes, when we hear these targeted attacks, we can become so convinced that it's our thoughts. However, the Lord has been emphasizing to me now more than ever that these thoughts are not mine and that I need to take a warrior’s stance on rejecting the thoughts as they come in.

As I’ve said in previous posts: the Lord is so gracious that He always provides for us a way out.

Spiritual Warfare Prayers for Your Mind

• I declare that I do not have a spirit of torment, but of power, love, and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).

• I commit my works to you, Lord, establish my thoughts and align my steps (Proverbs 16:3).

• I take authority over every weapon launched against my emotions today.

• I forbid any false emotions to take hold of my mental faculties (Isaiah 54:17).

• I prophesy that I will move in your perfect peace, understanding, and wisdom that you’ve stored up for this day (Proverbs 3:2).

My Prayer for You

Father, give everyone reading this post wisdom and understanding in this season. Open the eyes of their hearts to discern your promptings to a new space and place. Speak to them about where you are directing them to go. Make your desires in their life abundantly clear so that they can be led by your Spirit.

Let it be so!

Laura Corinne