Drafted with AI assistance, then reviewed, edited and approved by Jeff Robb. Scripture is quoted from the King James Version.
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Key passage: Exodus 14:13-14 (KJV)
13 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. 14 The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.
Reflection
Picture where Israel is standing. They have just walked out of Egypt after four hundred and thirty years. The plagues are over. The Passover is behind them. Now they are camped by the sea, with water in front of them and the wilderness shutting them in.
Then they lift up their eyes, and there are the Egyptians, marching after them. Pharaoh has changed his mind. Six hundred chosen chariots are coming, and all the chariots of Egypt.
The people panic. And honestly, who wouldn't? They say to Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? It is almost a bitter joke. Egypt, the land of tombs, and you couldn't find us a grave there?
Moses answers them with the words of our passage. Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD.
Notice three small phrases.
The first is fear ye not. Moses doesn't say there's nothing out there. The chariots are real. He's saying fear doesn't get to be in charge.
The second is stand still. When we're frightened, we want to do something. Anything. Run, argue, fix it. Moses tells them to stop. To quit thrashing around long enough to see what God is going to do.
The third comes at the end. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. To hold your peace means to be quiet. Stop the complaining. Stop the panic talk. Let God do the fighting.
But here's something worth noticing. Read the very next verse. The LORD says to Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward. So it's stand still, and then go forward. Both are true. Standing still isn't giving up. It's settling our hearts so we're ready to move when God opens the way. And that night, He opened a way right through the sea.
Most of us know what it's like to lie awake with our own chariots coming. A bill we can't pay. A test result we're waiting on. A conflict at work or at home with no way out that we can see. We run it over and over in our minds, as if worry could build a bridge.
Maybe there is something like that in front of you right now. Something you can't fix tonight, no matter how many times you go over it. The people of Israel couldn't part that sea either. Their part was to stop panicking, trust the LORD, and step out when He made the way.
So today, if there's a sea in front of you and trouble behind, try the order Moses gives. First, fear not. Then stand still, and be quiet before the Lord. Pray, and listen. And when He shows you the next step, take it. Go forward.
Moses told them that the Egyptians they saw that day, they would see again no more for ever. God was able to end that fear completely. He is still able. The God who made a path through the Red Sea has not grown weak.
Cross-references
Prayer
Lord, You see what is coming behind me and what stands in front of me. Quiet my fearful heart, and help me to stand still and trust You. When You show me the next step, give me the courage to go forward. Thank You that You fight for Your people. In Jesus' name, amen.
For today: Fear not, stand still, and when the Lord shows the next step, go forward.