You only need to remain calm; the Lord will fight for you. Exodus 14:14 NCV
Exodus 14 caused me some conflicted thoughts every time I read it. As a teenager, I heard a sermon on it that stuck with me. It’s the story of the Israelites after they had fled Egypt. The Egyptians had awakened to the deaths of every firstborn of their children and the animals. Surely they would stay in Egypt and grieve. But as the Israelites approached the Red Sea, they heard thundering hooves behind them. Pharoah’s army was hot on their trail. What would they do? They were trapped. God’s plan was to deliver them by parting the sea. They were terrified – marching into the sea would never be their solution. They would drown. The NIV says that Moses said, “The Lord will fight for you. Just be still.” The speaker leaned into “be still.” He taught about the need to stand and wait. Now, while waiting on God is legitimate, God did say to march on. The only way to not go back to slavery and death was to go forward. What could Moses possibly mean?
“Still” has a variety of meanings. Much of the time, perhaps most, we use it to mean “unmoving.” That’s what the speaker meant. But numerous translations use a different word which translates with greater clarity to me. The word is “calm.” “You only need to remain calm; the Lord will fight for you.” Now I got it. Whatever word conveys the message best to you, the message is that anxiety won’t win any battles. In fact, it may very well get in the way of a win. God has a plan. He is working in your situation. You just need to be calm and obey.
All of us face times when we are trapped by circumstances. It seems that we are “caught between the devil and the deep blue (or Red) sea.” We feel powerless and fearful. It’s not as blatant as Egypt’s thunderous army, but the fear can be paralyzing. We CAN’T move. Everywhere we look we see disaster.
Moses had faced many apparently unwinnable situations in his lifetime. He had many years of walking with God by this point in time. He had moments when he was paralyzed by his fear and others when he allowed his fear to head him into a disastrous choice. Now he knew what to do. He knew the only wise choice was to be calm. To obey. To trust that the faithful God he followed would fight for him. If the Lord would fight for him, why would he be afraid?
Hey – that’s a good question for me. Why not just be calm? Since the Lord will fight for me, why be afraid?
- Lord, may Your cloud of protection that Moses saw come between me and my fear. Help me be calm and confident that You are fighting for me, even when I don’t see how it will happen.