Exodus 14:14 – “The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”
In this scripture, when the Israelites left Egypt, Lord said He would harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he would pursue them, but finally the Lord would have the glory over Pharaoh and all his people. Sure enough, soon the Israelites saw Pharoah and his 600 chosen chariots close in upon them and they looked to Moses. Moses said, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
What did Moses do in the depths of despair? He responded with great courage. At this time, Moses had no idea how God would help them in the situation. But he knew that God would most certainly help. Moses was certain what the result would be. He knew that the situation was so bad that God had to come through. Moses told the Israelites to stop – stop planning the next step, stop complaining, stop travelling, stop worrying, just stop. Moses knew that God would save the lives of His people, give them victory, and destroy the enemies of the Lord. They would no more be troubled by those enemies because God was fighting for them. He believed that God was in control, so Moses was calm.
When we are in a bind, if we think we can do the little things with our strength and leave the bigger things to God, we may be wrong because the little things may be the ones that get us in trouble. When we see that our only help is God, we are more likely to only trust Him. Then we will take the Lord’s direction in a time of crisis – to stop. Despair hurls us down, it doesn’t allow us to stand. Fear urges us to retreat. Impatience inspires us to do something now. Presumption tells us to jump in the Red Sea before it is parted. Yet, as God told Israel He often tells us to simply stand still and hold our peace as He reveals His plan. The Lord will save us, fight for us, and remove our enemies; if we keep silent, remain calm, and believe in Him.
