After listening to my church's (Granger Community Church) service online yesterday, these words came to mind.
“Moses answered the people, 'Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.'" - Exodus 14:13-14 NIV
These words have been strong in my life and they hold a lot of meaning. I shared with the 5th grade students this past weekend what I am about to share with you.
A few posts ago we looked at a storm story [1] that showed us how the storms of life can just come up and we don't understand. But this also causes us to do something else that sometimes causes more trouble and that is fight.
Don't get me wrong - fighting for something is important. The disciples fought for the boat they were in and their lives. However, they became exhausted from fighting the storm. [2] Then they went to Jesus.
But Jesus should have been first. Let's go back to the opening passage.
Israel had just been freed from Egypt after years and years of slavery. Pharaoh changed his mind again and decided to go after them. Meanwhile, the Israelites had reached the Red Sea and could see the Egyptian army coming after them. They started to go to Moses and complain about the situation. They were afraid that they were going to have to fight. But Moses simply said:
"Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” - Exodus 14:13-14 NIV
I want to bring out three things that I see in these two verses:
1) BE STILL
Sometimes in the midst of the storm we just need to be still. If we start fighting a battle that God is already fighting, we can cause more problems. Imagine if Israel started grabbing rocks and sticks and whatever else they could find and started a battle with the Egyptians. That would have been crazy on their part.
Because God had promised....
2) DELIVERANCE
God had a plan for them. He was going to part the sea and free them once and for all from the Egyptians. He said through Moses, "The Egyptians you see today you will never see again." [3] And they didn't! God drowned them in the Red Sea!
God had deliverance planned for Israel long before they arrived at the Red Sea. Long before God had Moses come back and free them, long before they were even in Egypt, God had plan for that moment. God has a plan for your situation. God has a plan for my situation. God has a plan for anything that we face. But just have to
3 TRUST GOD
The Bible tells us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." [4] If we trust God and let Him handle it, things will work out. But if we try and do it ourselves by our own understanding, we will just mess it up even more.
There was a situation in my life that I tried to control for too long and it wore me out. But then I read the words - the words of God - "I'm fighting for you. You only need to be still."[5] I realized that I needed to let God fight. Let God use his mighty power in my situation.
The same words I say to you -
LET GOD FIGHT!
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” - Ephesians 6:10 NIV
1] A Tale of Two Storms - Part 1
2] Mark 4:35-41
3] Exodus 14:13, NIV
4] Proverbs 3:5, NIV
5] Exodus 14:14, NIV
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edited by Kay Beam
I would love to hear from you!!
Questions or comments... please email secondstagequestions@gmail.com
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