Exodus 14:14 – “The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”
The Lord told Moses that He would harden Pharaoh’s heart so he would pursue the Israelites. What then happened to the Israelites in this situation is that they complained and fretted on seeing Pharaoh’s chariots and men draw near. They were sure that their graves would be dug soon and complained saying it would have been better to die in Egypt. Meanwhile, Moses remained quite calm and did not answer their protest. He did not agree that he was the cause of their situation; rather believed that God was in control. He advised them not be afraid, to stand firm and be still. He told them the Lord would save them, fight for them, and remove the Egyptian army; and they didn’t have to do anything for this to happen.
How many times do we go through trials? When was the last time? Do you remember if you complained, you wallowed in self pity, you fought with God saying He makes bad things happen to only you, you let yourself get depressed than remember the countless blessings God gave you, you blamed, cold-shouldered or fought with the people whom you love? Do you believe in God’s love for you; God wants the best for you even if it means to allow bad things happen, to change you, to ready you for His plans for you? Moses had no idea ‘how’ God would help them but he was ‘certain’ that God would definitely help. Moses knew he was in such a bad situation that God had to come through.
It finally boils down to our faith. If we see that our only help is God, we will be more inclined to trust in Him. The problem begins when we look around and take our eyes away from God – our plans, our friend’s advice, our family legacy, our money from the business, etc. Sometimes it is the littlest things we think that we can do in our own strength, that get us down, not the big things that we know only God can do. The Lord asks us to stop in the time of crisis. We may get cast down by despair; we may retreat in fear; we may do something foolish and impulsive in impatience; Stop, why? Because God can work only if we stop and allow Him to. Because only God can handle the crisis and is waiting to see if we see that too. Because the divine glory can shine through for unbelievers to see God’s power and might in these situations. Because only the Lord will fight us in such times. When we stand still and hold our peace, then God can reveal His plan to us. God saves us and destroys our enemies, His enemies. We are expected to do only one thing: stand firm and be still (and know that He is God)!
