“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
Tim Chester:
Can you imagine what it’s like to stand still as the greatest army in the world bears down on you? Every instinct in you is telling you either to fight or flee. Do you instinctively want to stand and fight your weaknesses and your problems with your own strength, in your own way? Or do you naturally tend to flee from your problems and hope that if you ignore your weaknesses they will disappear? Maybe you’re in the midst of conflict or uncertainty. Maybe you fear exposure or shame. Maybe you feel as if your world is falling apart. You will want to come out fighting or you will want to run away.
And God says, “Be still”.
That doesn’t mean you can abdicate responsibility and do nothing. It means you take responsibility for what is your responsibility—but that you leave the rest to God. Our problem is often that we take responsibility for what is not our responsibility. I’m responsible for being a good parent, but I’m not responsible for the choices of my children—I must leave that to God and be still. I’m responsible for being a good employee, but I’m not responsible for the actions of my boss—I must leave that to God and be still. I’m responsible for telling others the gospel, but I’m not responsible for their salvation—I must leave that to God and be still. And ultimately, while I’m responsible for my sin, I am not responsible for achieving my forgiveness—I must leave that to God too, and be still.
When we try to take control of our world or of our eternal future, we’re in effect saying, God’s not doing a good job so I’m going to step in. The result is over-busyness, stress and unwise decisions, because it turns out that we’re not very good at doing God’s job for him. And God graciously says,
“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still”(Exodus 14: 14).
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