What Does It Mean That God Is Our Healer?

By Pastor John Erickson

Have you ever been so thirsty that the only thing you can think about is getting a drink?

Now imagine walking through a desert with thousands of other people. You've been traveling for days. Your water is running out. Everyone is tired, and the situation is beginning to get desperate.

And then you see water.

You can almost feel the relief. Finally.

But when you reach it, the water is bitter. You can't drink it.

That's the setting in Exodus 15, where God reveals himself as the one who heals.

The Water at Marah

The Israelites have just experienced an extraordinary rescue. God brought them out of Egypt and through the sea. They watched Pharaoh's army lose its power over them.

If you're the Israelites, you'd think things should be pretty good from here.

Instead, a few days into the wilderness, they encounter water they cannot drink.

And the people complain to Moses.

We can read that and think, Come on. You just saw God part the sea. Have a little faith.

But I wonder what we would do after three days without good water. I suspect there might be a little complaining at my house too.

Moses cries out to the LORD. God shows him a piece of wood, which Moses throws into the water, and the water becomes drinkable.

Then God reveals himself with a name that carries the meaning the LORD who heals-often expressed as Yahweh Rophe or Jehovah Rapha.

God Can Meet Us in Bitter Places

There's something about the word bitter that reaches beyond the water in the story.

Life has a way of leaving bitterness inside us.

Maybe there's a betrayal you haven't been able to move past. A loss you still feel. A disappointment with God. Or a wound you thought had healed until something happened and all those feelings came rushing back.

You can keep functioning while carrying that bitterness. Sometimes you can even become pretty good at hiding it.

But it changes the way you experience everything else.

I think the story of Marah gives us a picture of God's ability to work in places that seem undrinkable, broken, or poisoned by disappointment.

The wood in the water has sometimes been connected by Christian teachers with the wood of the cross. We should remember that Exodus is first telling a real story about God's provision for Israel. Still, for Christians it can also become a reminder that through Jesus, God meets us in places of pain and offers restoration.

Healing Is More Than One Kind of Need

When we hear the word healing, we usually think of physical illness.

And rightly so. Jesus healed sick people. The Gospels are filled with stories of people who came to him carrying physical suffering, and he responded with compassion.

The church is also instructed to pray for those who are sick. James 5 encourages believers to bring their needs to one another and to God.

I believe God still heals, and I believe we should pray for healing.

But I don't want us to make the mistake of limiting healing to the physical body.

We carry emotional wounds. We carry spiritual wounds. We experience relationships that need restoration. Sometimes our souls are exhausted from carrying shame or fear.

Jesus cares about all of us.

At the same time, asking God for healing isn't a guarantee of immediate recovery. Not everyone who prays is physically healed, and that isn't proof that they lack faith. Prayer and medical care can belong together, not compete with each other.

I have needed to hear that invitation myself. While preparing to talk about God's healing, I began by thinking about other people who might need prayer. Then the question turned toward me. Was I willing to acknowledge the wounded places in my own heart, or was I more comfortable organizing prayer for everybody else?

That was an uncomfortable discovery. It is possible to believe that God heals and still keep part of your own life out of the conversation. I do not want to do that.

The invitation is to bring our whole selves before God and trust his compassion.

God Is Knowable, But Not Fully Explainable

One thing I love about studying the names of God is that it reminds us we can truly know him without being able to explain everything about him.

God is greater than our understanding. We don't reach the point where we've figured out all his ways.

But we do see his character in Scripture.

At Marah, God doesn't abandon his people because they are frightened and complaining. He provides water and begins teaching them how to trust him in the wilderness.

The God who rescued them from Egypt is still with them in the desert.

And that's important, because sometimes the wilderness comes after the rescue.

You begin following Jesus, and then you discover that life can still be difficult. You can have faith and still experience loss. You can be obedient and still have unanswered questions.

God's presence isn't measured only by whether the water tastes sweet today.

Where Have You Become Bitter?

Perhaps the place to begin isn't with a huge spiritual assignment.

Maybe it's with one honest question: Where am I carrying bitterness that I need to bring before God?

It could be physical pain. It might be grief, resentment, or shame.

You don't have to pretend it's fine. You don't have to make it sound more spiritual than it is.

Bring it to Jesus. Ask for healing. Invite trusted people to pray with you. Seek the help you need.

The God who met his people at bitter water has not stopped caring about people in bitter places.

He is the LORD who heals.