October 31, 2025 • 14 mins
In this episode of 'Joy in Every Step', Sarita explores the themes of bitterness and transformation through the biblical story of Naomi and Ruth. She discusses the destructive nature of bitterness, the importance of words, and how God can heal and restore us. The conversation emphasizes the need for obedience and faith to overcome life's challenges and to find Joy in God's grace.
Takeaways
- Bitterness can lead to spiritual and relational decay.
- Anger and resentment are root causes of bitterness.
- Words have power; be mindful of what you say.
- God provides healing and restoration in our lives.
- Obedience to God leads to blessings and healing.
- The Israelites' journey reflects our own struggles.
- God's grace is available to all who seek it.
- Transformation is possible through faith and trust in God.
- We should support one another in our spiritual journeys.
- Joy can be found in every step of our faith walk.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Introduction (00:02):
Welcome to a place of peace, hope, and divine
encouragement. This is Joy inEvery Step with your host,
beloved preacher, retiredteacher, and faithful through
(00:31):
the valleys or dancing on themountaintops, Sarita's voice
will guide you back to hispromises step by step. So open
your heart, settle your spirit,and take the next step in faith
with joy in every Step.
Sarita Bernadette (00:49):
Hi, I'm Sarita Bernadette and welcome
back to another episode of Joyin Every Step. I'm glad you're
here. In our last episode welooked at the story of Ruth and
we took note of thetransformation that took place
in her mother-in-law Naomi. Wezeroed in on her feelings of
(01:12):
bitterness and abandonment andhow that changed as the story
progressed. So let's revisitthat part for just a bit.
In Ruth one twelve-fourteen weread, Naomi has decided that her
her daughters in law shouldreturn to their families in
Moab. Remember that part? Shesays, Turn back my daughters, go
(01:37):
your way for I am too old tohave a husband. Even if I
thought there was hope for me,even if I should have a husband
tonight and bear sons, would youthen wait until they were grown?
Would you then refrain frommarrying?
No, my daughters, it has beenfar more bitter for me than for
(01:58):
you because the hand of the Lordhas turned against me.
Bitterness. Bitterness asexplained in the Bible Hub's
topical encyclopedia is a deepseated resentment or animosity
that can take root in the humanheart. It is often characterized
by an unforgiving spirit and apersistent feeling of anger or
(02:24):
disappointment. In the biblicalcontext bitterness is seen as a
destructive force.
It can lead to spiritual andrelational decay. The root cause
of bitterness is anger. Angerthat we allow to linger, hurt
that we don't deal with, orresentment as a result of being
(02:47):
disappointed, being treatedunfairly, or even being
deceived. If we dwell on thoseevents, those negative
experiences, they tend to becomelarger and larger in our
memories and after a while ourperspective is distorted and we
(03:08):
are looking for some sort ofvengeance. If we choose to hold
on to negative emotions andrefuse to let go of pain the
result can be bitterness.
I want to circle back tosomething that I read earlier, a
part of verse 12 when Naomi isspeaking about her situation.
(03:30):
She says, I am too old to have ahusband, even if I thought there
was hope for me. Side note righthere beloved watch what you say
when what you see doesn't lookgood. It's best to just keep
quiet. Yep shut your mouth.
(03:51):
If you find that you can't pullup a scripture or you can't say
a prayer, just keep quiet. One'sconfession in difficult times
has a direct effect on one'ssituation. Proverbs eighteen and
twenty one reminds us death andlife are in the power of the
tongue and those who love itwill eat its fruits. Therefore
(04:16):
Psalm one hundred forty one andthree set a guard over my mouth,
O Lord keep watch over the doorof my lips. You see Naomi had
slipped into bitterness She hadlost hope and what fell out of
her mouth was a testament towhat was going on in her heart.
(04:40):
The Bible warns againstbitterness and gives us the
alternative in Ephesians fourthirty one and thirty two Put
away from you all bitterness andwrath and anger and wrangling
and slander together with allmalice. Be kind to one another,
tender hearted, forgiving oneanother as God in Christ has
(05:00):
forgiven you. Put away thenegative emotions and embrace
the positive ones. Beloved,Hebrews twelve fifteen reminds
us (05:10):
See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God, that
no root of bitterness springs upand causes trouble, through it
many become defiled. We as thebody of Christ are to help and
support one another as we growin faith.
(05:33):
We should be aware of ourbrothers and sisters situations
so that no one is left behind.We should all have access to
God's generosity and his glory.So we can certainly take away
some lessons from Naomi's boutwith bitterness. Now let's get
into something else mentioned inthat last episode when Ruth and
(05:56):
Naomi arrived in Bethlehem.Naomi announced her name change.
Remember she said that the Lordhad dealt harshly with her and
she wanted to be called Marahenceforth, m a r a, which means
bitter in Hebrew. So we alsoshared that this name Mara,
(06:20):
harkens back to an actual placein the Old Testament. It's
spelled different but let's justgive a little bit of context
here before we go in. Most of usare familiar with the story of
the children of Israel's journeyout of Egypt. It's found in the
book of Exodus.
Led by Moses, the Israelitesescaped slavery in Egypt after a
(06:43):
series of plagues. Pharaohallowed them to leave after that
tenth one. It was just too much.They left Egypt and they made
their way through the Red Seatoward the Promised Land
experiencing challenges many oftheir own doing along the way.
The piece of their journey thatwe want to focus in on at this
(07:05):
time is something that tookplace right after the Israelites
escaped Pharaoh's army throughthe Red Sea.
In Exodus fifteen twentytwo-twenty seven we read: Then
Moses ordered Israel to set outfrom the Red Sea and they went
into the wilderness of Shur.They went three days in the
(07:27):
wilderness and found no water.When they came to Marah, they
could not drink the water ofMarah because it was bitter.
That is why it was called Marah.And the people complained
against Moses saying, What shallwe drink?
(07:48):
He cried out to the Lord and theLord showed him a piece of wood.
He threw it into the water andthe water became sweet. There
the Lord made for them a statuteand an ordinance, and there he
put them to the test. Verse 26,he said, If you will listen
carefully to the voice of theLord your God, and do what is
(08:11):
right in his sight, and giveheed to his commandments, and
keep all his statutes, I willnot bring upon you any of the
diseases that I brought upon theEgyptians, for I am the Lord who
heals you. Then they came toElim where there were 12 springs
of water and 70 palm trees andthey camped there by the water.
(08:35):
Now let's talk about this. Youmight be familiar with some of
the times the Israelitesmurmured and complained about
the conditions of their exodus.Yes, the great I AM delivered
them from bondage and they hadthe nerve to grumble. But we
have never done anything likethat now have we beloved? Anyhoo
(08:57):
time after time God overlookstheir whining and provides for
them.
Here they are in the desert forthree days with no water and
then they come tomorrow. Thewater there is not to their
liking because it's bitter. Sothey complain to Moses.
(09:17):
Sometimes old habits just diehard. And this is so interesting
because the people themselveshave become Mara or bitter.
Moses then does something thathe has learned to do in these
situations. He cries out to theFather for help. God shows him a
(09:38):
piece of wood and when Mosesthrows it into the water there
at Marah, the water turns frombitter to sweet. Yet another
miracle. In verse 26 God sets upsome rules and some procedures.
He tells the Israelites, If youlisten to me and you adhere to
(10:00):
my laws, I will not strike youwith the diseases I've inflicted
on the Egyptians. So there Godreminds the Israelites that He
is sovereign and He takes them astep further into covenant
relationship with Him by testingtheir obedience. The words at
the end of that verse aresignificant. He says, For I am
(10:24):
the Lord who heals you. Listen,God healed the bitter water by
turning it sweet, right?
God demonstrated His power toheal the Israelites from all
they had been going throughduring slavery in Egypt, and He
shows them that He can betrusted to take care of their
(10:48):
needs right there at Marah.Verse 27 says, Then they came to
Elim where there there were 12springs of water and 70 palm
trees and they camped there bythe water. Beloved, God wastes
nothing. 12 springs of water.12.
(11:10):
The word of God 12 in the wordof God symbolizes God's power
and His authority as well asserving as a perfect
governmental foundation. It canalso symbolize completeness or
the nation of Israel as a whole,you know, 12 tribes of Israel.
(11:30):
Then you hear 70 palm trees. Thenumber 70 often symbolizes
completeness as well or thefullness of God's divine
purpose. So when he brings thechildren of Israel to Elim, he
brings them to a place where hecan fully meet their needs.
(11:51):
There they have access to fullrestoration and healing. This is
the place where God shows themthat he can be trusted. This
event serves as proof that theycan carry with them as they
journey on. Perhaps you can findyourself somewhere in there,
beloved. Think about it.
(12:13):
I'll just bet there's a memoryyou could retrieve right now
that proves God's ability toheal and restore. We have so
much evidence of histrustworthiness. He is faithful.
And consider this (12:28):
the Israelites had never been free
to serve God openly. They hadbeen in bondage in Egypt all
those years.
They needed to get to know theirGod, really know God intimately.
Their doubts, the whining, thecomplaining, the grumbling came
(12:50):
as a result of all those many,many years of pain and hardship.
So perhaps we should give themsome grace when we read about
their wilderness experience.This story is about God being a
healer in several ways. Aftermeeting their immediate physical
needs, quenching their thirst,then he sees to their spiritual
(13:16):
needs.
He tells them how to live wellin his presence and that is to
follow his way of doing things.He addresses their spiritual
needs by letting them know theyserve a God who can redeem and
restore them fully mind, body,and soul even after generations
(13:39):
of slavery. I have lived longenough to understand that
nothing can discourage our Godfrom loving us. He's come into
this relationship fully aware ofwho we are. He knows everything
about us and still pursues us,still loves us.
(14:00):
We serve a God who is ready,willing, and able to demonstrate
His grace when we need it.Beloved, there is joy in knowing
that obedience and faith canchange a situation from bitter
to sweet. You've been listeningto Joy in Every Step. I'm Sarita
(14:22):
Bernadette and I'm grateful youchose to spend some time here
with me. You can find Joy inEvery Step wherever you listen
to your podcasts and give us afollow there.
Do check out the website atjoyandeverystep.org. We'll see
you next time.
Welcome to a place of peace, hope, and divine
encouragement. This is Joy inEvery Step with your host,
beloved preacher, retiredteacher, and faithful through
(00:31):
the valleys or dancing on themountaintops, Sarita's voice
will guide you back to hispromises step by step. So open
your heart, settle your spirit,and take the next step in faith
with joy in every Step.
Sarita Bernadette (00:49):
Hi, I'm Sarita Bernadette and welcome
back to another episode of Joyin Every Step. I'm glad you're
here. In our last episode welooked at the story of Ruth and
we took note of thetransformation that took place
in her mother-in-law Naomi. Wezeroed in on her feelings of
(01:12):
bitterness and abandonment andhow that changed as the story
progressed. So let's revisitthat part for just a bit.
In Ruth one twelve-fourteen weread, Naomi has decided that her
her daughters in law shouldreturn to their families in
Moab. Remember that part? Shesays, Turn back my daughters, go
(01:37):
your way for I am too old tohave a husband. Even if I
thought there was hope for me,even if I should have a husband
tonight and bear sons, would youthen wait until they were grown?
Would you then refrain frommarrying?
No, my daughters, it has beenfar more bitter for me than for
(01:58):
you because the hand of the Lordhas turned against me.
Bitterness. Bitterness asexplained in the Bible Hub's
topical encyclopedia is a deepseated resentment or animosity
that can take root in the humanheart. It is often characterized
by an unforgiving spirit and apersistent feeling of anger or
(02:24):
disappointment. In the biblicalcontext bitterness is seen as a
destructive force.
It can lead to spiritual andrelational decay. The root cause
of bitterness is anger. Angerthat we allow to linger, hurt
that we don't deal with, orresentment as a result of being
(02:47):
disappointed, being treatedunfairly, or even being
deceived. If we dwell on thoseevents, those negative
experiences, they tend to becomelarger and larger in our
memories and after a while ourperspective is distorted and we
(03:08):
are looking for some sort ofvengeance. If we choose to hold
on to negative emotions andrefuse to let go of pain the
result can be bitterness.
I want to circle back tosomething that I read earlier, a
part of verse 12 when Naomi isspeaking about her situation.
(03:30):
She says, I am too old to have ahusband, even if I thought there
was hope for me. Side note righthere beloved watch what you say
when what you see doesn't lookgood. It's best to just keep
quiet. Yep shut your mouth.
(03:51):
If you find that you can't pullup a scripture or you can't say
a prayer, just keep quiet. One'sconfession in difficult times
has a direct effect on one'ssituation. Proverbs eighteen and
twenty one reminds us death andlife are in the power of the
tongue and those who love itwill eat its fruits. Therefore
(04:16):
Psalm one hundred forty one andthree set a guard over my mouth,
O Lord keep watch over the doorof my lips. You see Naomi had
slipped into bitterness She hadlost hope and what fell out of
her mouth was a testament towhat was going on in her heart.
(04:40):
The Bible warns againstbitterness and gives us the
alternative in Ephesians fourthirty one and thirty two Put
away from you all bitterness andwrath and anger and wrangling
and slander together with allmalice. Be kind to one another,
tender hearted, forgiving oneanother as God in Christ has
(05:00):
forgiven you. Put away thenegative emotions and embrace
the positive ones. Beloved,Hebrews twelve fifteen reminds
us (05:10):
See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God, that
no root of bitterness springs upand causes trouble, through it
many become defiled. We as thebody of Christ are to help and
support one another as we growin faith.
(05:33):
We should be aware of ourbrothers and sisters situations
so that no one is left behind.We should all have access to
God's generosity and his glory.So we can certainly take away
some lessons from Naomi's boutwith bitterness. Now let's get
into something else mentioned inthat last episode when Ruth and
(05:56):
Naomi arrived in Bethlehem.Naomi announced her name change.
Remember she said that the Lordhad dealt harshly with her and
she wanted to be called Marahenceforth, m a r a, which means
bitter in Hebrew. So we alsoshared that this name Mara,
(06:20):
harkens back to an actual placein the Old Testament. It's
spelled different but let's justgive a little bit of context
here before we go in. Most of usare familiar with the story of
the children of Israel's journeyout of Egypt. It's found in the
book of Exodus.
Led by Moses, the Israelitesescaped slavery in Egypt after a
(06:43):
series of plagues. Pharaohallowed them to leave after that
tenth one. It was just too much.They left Egypt and they made
their way through the Red Seatoward the Promised Land
experiencing challenges many oftheir own doing along the way.
The piece of their journey thatwe want to focus in on at this
(07:05):
time is something that tookplace right after the Israelites
escaped Pharaoh's army throughthe Red Sea.
In Exodus fifteen twentytwo-twenty seven we read: Then
Moses ordered Israel to set outfrom the Red Sea and they went
into the wilderness of Shur.They went three days in the
(07:27):
wilderness and found no water.When they came to Marah, they
could not drink the water ofMarah because it was bitter.
That is why it was called Marah.And the people complained
against Moses saying, What shallwe drink?
(07:48):
He cried out to the Lord and theLord showed him a piece of wood.
He threw it into the water andthe water became sweet. There
the Lord made for them a statuteand an ordinance, and there he
put them to the test. Verse 26,he said, If you will listen
carefully to the voice of theLord your God, and do what is
(08:11):
right in his sight, and giveheed to his commandments, and
keep all his statutes, I willnot bring upon you any of the
diseases that I brought upon theEgyptians, for I am the Lord who
heals you. Then they came toElim where there were 12 springs
of water and 70 palm trees andthey camped there by the water.
(08:35):
Now let's talk about this. Youmight be familiar with some of
the times the Israelitesmurmured and complained about
the conditions of their exodus.Yes, the great I AM delivered
them from bondage and they hadthe nerve to grumble. But we
have never done anything likethat now have we beloved? Anyhoo
(08:57):
time after time God overlookstheir whining and provides for
them.
Here they are in the desert forthree days with no water and
then they come tomorrow. Thewater there is not to their
liking because it's bitter. Sothey complain to Moses.
(09:17):
Sometimes old habits just diehard. And this is so interesting
because the people themselveshave become Mara or bitter.
Moses then does something thathe has learned to do in these
situations. He cries out to theFather for help. God shows him a
(09:38):
piece of wood and when Mosesthrows it into the water there
at Marah, the water turns frombitter to sweet. Yet another
miracle. In verse 26 God sets upsome rules and some procedures.
He tells the Israelites, If youlisten to me and you adhere to
(10:00):
my laws, I will not strike youwith the diseases I've inflicted
on the Egyptians. So there Godreminds the Israelites that He
is sovereign and He takes them astep further into covenant
relationship with Him by testingtheir obedience. The words at
the end of that verse aresignificant. He says, For I am
(10:24):
the Lord who heals you. Listen,God healed the bitter water by
turning it sweet, right?
God demonstrated His power toheal the Israelites from all
they had been going throughduring slavery in Egypt, and He
shows them that He can betrusted to take care of their
(10:48):
needs right there at Marah.Verse 27 says, Then they came to
Elim where there there were 12springs of water and 70 palm
trees and they camped there bythe water. Beloved, God wastes
nothing. 12 springs of water.12.
(11:10):
The word of God 12 in the wordof God symbolizes God's power
and His authority as well asserving as a perfect
governmental foundation. It canalso symbolize completeness or
the nation of Israel as a whole,you know, 12 tribes of Israel.
(11:30):
Then you hear 70 palm trees. Thenumber 70 often symbolizes
completeness as well or thefullness of God's divine
purpose. So when he brings thechildren of Israel to Elim, he
brings them to a place where hecan fully meet their needs.
(11:51):
There they have access to fullrestoration and healing. This is
the place where God shows themthat he can be trusted. This
event serves as proof that theycan carry with them as they
journey on. Perhaps you can findyourself somewhere in there,
beloved. Think about it.
(12:13):
I'll just bet there's a memoryyou could retrieve right now
that proves God's ability toheal and restore. We have so
much evidence of histrustworthiness. He is faithful.
And consider this (12:28):
the Israelites had never been free
to serve God openly. They hadbeen in bondage in Egypt all
those years.
They needed to get to know theirGod, really know God intimately.
Their doubts, the whining, thecomplaining, the grumbling came
(12:50):
as a result of all those many,many years of pain and hardship.
So perhaps we should give themsome grace when we read about
their wilderness experience.This story is about God being a
healer in several ways. Aftermeeting their immediate physical
needs, quenching their thirst,then he sees to their spiritual
(13:16):
needs.
He tells them how to live wellin his presence and that is to
follow his way of doing things.He addresses their spiritual
needs by letting them know theyserve a God who can redeem and
restore them fully mind, body,and soul even after generations
(13:39):
of slavery. I have lived longenough to understand that
nothing can discourage our Godfrom loving us. He's come into
this relationship fully aware ofwho we are. He knows everything
about us and still pursues us,still loves us.
(14:00):
We serve a God who is ready,willing, and able to demonstrate
His grace when we need it.Beloved, there is joy in knowing
that obedience and faith canchange a situation from bitter
to sweet. You've been listeningto Joy in Every Step. I'm Sarita
(14:22):
Bernadette and I'm grateful youchose to spend some time here
with me. You can find Joy inEvery Step wherever you listen
to your podcasts and give us afollow there.
Do check out the website atjoyandeverystep.org. We'll see
you next time.
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