The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Ex 14:14

Studying the story of Moses and the Israelites I often see the human tendencies in all of us. The longing for familiarity over faith keeps us from seeing what God is moving us into. Fear of the unknown traps us back into a nest of safety.

Comfort, safety, and the familiar become the enemy of Faith.

The more God draws the Israelites out into a journey of trust, the more they want to run back to the assurance of food and familiarity in Egypt. Even if that means slavery! They overlook ALL the bad, and glamorize it in some ways, just for the familiar comfort of what they DO know. We can read this & laugh at the silliness of the Israelite’s desire to return to slavery when God brings Moses to free them into a promised land… but if we think about it, we’ve all had this crossroad. The path God is taking the Israelites on is one of faith & trust. There is no familiar to cling to.

As Moses leads the Israelites to the Red Sea with an approaching Egyptian army behind them, the Israelites begin panicking out of FEAR. They cry out, We’d rather be left in Egypt in slavery than possibly die in front of the Red Sea.

Moses responds to their fear and lack of faith, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm…The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still.”

Stillness.

This is what requires releasing control, to quit living in a spirit of fear and timidity. Stillness is FAITH. Faith to stand still & trust God will make a way, reveal a plan, & do the impossible.

For the Red Sea to part, they couldn’t do ANYTHING to make that happen. They could only stand in faith, in stillness.

Today, the same pressures of fear bid us run back into familiar… but God wants to part the Red Sea & show us the plan he has for us, which may require us to stand in the stillness of faith.

It’s not do more, try harder, bigger vision, stronger leadership… it’s standing before the “I am who I am” with our mustard seed of faith.

hen you choose to stand, it means you don’t run back to the familiar ways. Standing also means we aren’t running ahead of God in panic as we think God’s timing is behind. When you stand it’s an act of faith, not weakness. It’s actually strength, courage, & a test of great faith.
To walk by faith, may actually come in the quietness of standing still.