Sweet Water
I was pressed from every side. It was Thursday, December 15th, and my book review and music project were due the next day. I was glad that I had asked the Lord to help me not to be anxious because I knew that my old ways, how I thought and acted before I met Jesus, tended to “reappear” in times of stress. But as always He was faithful. That afternoon in the library, He had warned me not to leave out a certain graph from a music assignment I was working on. Then, a teaching fellow appeared whom I could ask about this portion of the project. As I carefully watched her draw and explain what needed to be done, I realized that I had not had a clue what to do before she helped me. The Lord was kind—and I was grateful.
I was all smiles when I got home that evening, but a new set of temptations quickly arose. I had to cook dinner–and none of my roommates offered to help. They knew what a bind I was in, they didn’t have all this work to do. How inconsiderate they were! Resentment welled up within me, but I soon realized that I was in the wrong and that I would have to fight these feelings. As I cut and cooked the chicken, I stopped periodically to push back accusing thoughts towards my roommates. I did not want to forget how good God had been to me just that afternoon, but I was having a hard time keeping the door shut to these angry feelings which continued to press upon me. I realized that the weight of my will alone could not hold back this assault upon my soul. My strength was failing, and once again I saw what an evil and ungrateful heart I had.
The water that could not be drunk was turned into a sweet source of life for all.
Just when I was feeling most helpless, I remembered—the cross of Calvary…Jesus, my Savior…He died for my sins! I let out a deep sigh of relief, released from the weight of the oppressive thoughts that had overcome me. He set me free, offered His blood in exchange for my life, and now I was beyond the reach of Satan. Nothing was as lovely to this needy soul at that moment as the cross of Calvary. I praised the Lord God Almighty for He was my salvation–and I joyfully finished preparing dinner for my friends. “If the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed!”
A friend came over about 5:30 that night to join us for dinner. We prayed and were about to eat when one roommate and then another exclaimed that their water was sweet. I am often scolded that I use too much sugar when I cook–but I never put sugar in people’s water. I laughed and tried to dismiss their suspicions. But when I took a drink from my own glass, I found that it really was sweet. Then the thought came–that the Lord can make even the bitter sweet. Of course! I remembered the story, that the Lord once told Moses to throw a piece of wood into a spring containing bitter water, the only water available in the desert for the Israelites to drink. Moses obeyed and the water that could not be drunk was turned into a sweet source of life for all.
It is true: God can miraculously turn all that is bitter into sweet. The greatest example of this was when Jesus turned the bitter piece of wood we call the cross into the means of salvation for a world of lost sinners. He defeated sin and all its power, and even overcame death itself, opening the way for someone like me to know and walk with God.
The water was inexplicably sweet that night. All who were there agreed about this. But even better He can make sweet the difficult experiences of life. As the old hymn says, “Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before.
Vivian Kim, Silliman ’96