For a while, the news has been filled with stories about a pollutant called acid rain. Its a problem in the northeastern United States and Canada. Acid rain is the result of sulfur and nitrogen oxides being washed from the air by normal rainfall. These pollutants are killing whole forests and destroying fish, etc.






The people of Israel encountered a similar situation at an oasis they called Marah, which means "bitter." Something had polluted the water so badly that it was undrinkable. The people of God were in danger of dying of thirst.






But when we need God most, He is always there. God directed Moses to a tree that miraculously restored the pureness of the water when cast into it.






Bitter water also can destroy our spiritual lives. James asks, "Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?" (James 3:11). The sweet spirit God wants for us cannot exist in a heart polluted by bitterness. Bitterness on the inside will eventually show itself on the outside. No matter how carefully we think we have concealed it, bitterness will eat away all we are, all we say, and all we do. The only solution is to apply the healing balm of Gods Spirit to the bitterness of our lives.






Are you being polluted by bitterness? Isnt it time for Gods freshness?