Stand Still as the Lord Delivers
Exodus 14:10 – As Pharaoh approached, the Israelis looked up, and there were the Egyptians bearing down on them! Extremely frightened, the Israelis cried out to the LORD. 11 – They also told Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you took us out to die in the desert? What have you done to us, by bringing us out of Egypt?
Verse 12 – Is this not what we told you in Egypt, when we said ‘Leave us alone!’ and ‘Let us serve the Egyptians!’? Indeed, it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” 13 – Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid! Stand still and watch how the LORD will deliver you today, because you will never again see the Egyptians whom you’re looking at today. 14 – The LORD will fight for you while you keep still.”
The Israelites seemed to blindly follow where the Lord was leading until it dawned on them that they were being maneuvered into what seemed like an impossible situation in which there was no way out.
With water on one side and the pursuing Egyptians on the other their fear of what would happen next was extreme. All they could see in their minds was all the ways they were going to die painful deaths by the swords of the Egyptians. We are like that too. We don’t mind following God at all when things are going smoothly, but when God leads us into impossible situations in which there are no human ways out – we are tempted to think that God has abandoned us or that He’s led us out into our respective deserts to die at the hands of our oppressors.
Our oppressors can be anything the devil uses to strike fear into our hearts. For the Israelites it was the Egyptians. What has been striking fear into your heart? Fear of the Novel Coronavirus or other disease? Fear of losing a job or a cut in pay? Fear of an unpleasant confrontation with someone else? We can be led by God into a multitude of impossible situations in which we can see no way out.
God shines the brightest in impossible situations. Read God’s words in Exodus 14:4 – I’ve made Pharaoh’s heart stubborn so he will pursue them. But I’ll receive honor by means of Pharaoh and his army, so that the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.”
As the Israelites stood still they witnessed something incredible. A strong east wind began to blow upon the sea and a corridor of dry land appeared with walls of water on either side. The Lord had opened a way to save Israel and defeat the Egyptians!
May you be comforted by the words of Psalm 23:4 which says: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” Let us always trust God to make a way out of all our impossible situations.
Where two are gathered 