Be Still

8/3/2022

Written By: April Mills

The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still. - Exodus 14:14

How often are we truly still? Easier said than done, right? It’s hard to stand still while the storm rages around you, and everything seems hopelessly swirling out of control. We all have some area in our lives that seems out of control and a constant source of anxiety and stress. We fret, pace and wring our hands together while we wait for that breakthrough to come.

I have had one thing on my mind the last few weeks. It has plagued my thoughts and honestly, has been a bit consuming. I spent my days either trying to fix it or just waiting for it all to pass. I felt as though I was surrounded on all sides and couldn’t catch a break from it. It’s all I can see before me, stretching to the horizon. Anyone else ever feel this way?

We are so good at worrying ourselves over things we have no control over, aren’t we? We just try so hard on our own to fix it, make it better, solve it, or to create something from nothing. All this while I could feel the Lord calling me to just rest, and to be still while He worked it out.

I love Exodus 14:14. It speaks beautifully about the compassion and love that God holds in His heart for us. Moses spoke these words to Israelites after they were set free and discovered the Egyptians were marching after them. They cried out to Moses saying, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, leave us alone, let us serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” (Exodus 14:11-12).

Talk about a roller coaster of emotions! They are set free only to discover Pharaoh’s army is hunting them down with seemingly no way out. Can you imagine the fear, anxiety and despair they must have experienced in that moment? It must have been overwhelming and all consuming.

How did Moses respond to this outcry? Moses responds by saying “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).

The Lord God, motivated by His compassion and love for His children, went to fight for them. Everything God does is motivated by His love. He is clearly aware that you cannot save yourself. He is aware of your anxiety, worry and all the seemingly impossible obstacles you face.

He is aware of the army surrounding you, and that you have no place to turn. Be still, O Child of God, and allow the Father to defend what is most precious to Him: you.

It’s during these stressful times we need to press into Scripture and be encouraged by the living Word. I encourage you to let what God says be our firm foundation, and not the shifting sands of anxiety and worry. Allow him to plant your feet on the Rock of Truth, His Word, and be still, knowing the God of the Heavens and Earth will fight for you. Peace to you.