The Lord will fight for you!

“The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” Exodus 14:14

One of the most famous and quoted stories in the Bible is that of Moses dividing the Red Sea. But many miss out on the important details of that excerpt. After the Israelites had camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth as the Lord had told them, Pharaoh and his army soon pursued and overtook them. 

The minute the Israelites saw the army approaching them, they resorted to the most common reaction that any of us give when our plans fail despite walking in the ways of the Lord. They began to cry, complain, and accuse God of leaving them alone in the desert and not helping them to flee from the army. 

When we read about the Israelites’ resentment and regret to move out of Egypt on God’s call instead of staying back in their condition, it almost feels incomprehensible. After all, God performed multiple supernatural acts to rescue them from Pharaoh’s captivity, which was for their good.

But, indeed, we are also much like them. The moment we find ourselves in the middle of an unknown obstacle or a difficult situation, we begin to question God about His doings. We suddenly forget all the good things the Lord has done for us to bring us where we are today. Instead of leaning on His promises and looking back at His blessings, we begin to resent our ways of following the Lord thus far. 

At this point, Moses encouraged the Israelites to stand firm and not be afraid as the Lord would fight for them. The Lord also tells Moses to ask the Israelites to move on, and we all know how the story ends. As Moses raised his staff, the water divided into two halves and the Israelites walked through the dry sea and reached the other side, while Pharaoh’s army got swept into the sea.

The Lord is telling us to move on, even as we stand next to an impossible situation or circumstance that is too heavy to bear. If the Lord could fight for the Israelites, He could do it for us as well. After all, we are His children and as written in Psalm 34:15 “The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are attentive to their cry”. 

We are only a prayer away from the Lord and His guidance. Surely He will help us to cross our Red Sea on dry ground as well, and we will see our problems crashing down as we depend on our one true living God.