Stand Firm and Be Quiet

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A friend gave me a book for Christmas called, The Red Sea Rules, by Robert J. Morgan. It's a meaty little book that I've been enjoying. It has also landed me in the book of Exodus and the story of Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt. 

They come to the edge of the Red Sea only to find their way blocked by the water and with Pharoah and his army in hot pursuit. And in typical fashion, the Israelites begin to freak out! They are frightened.

In verses 13-14 of chapter 14 we read the following:

But Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see the Lord’s salvation He will provide for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you must be quiet.”

Those two phrases stand firm and be quiet jumped out at me because when I'm anxious and worried about something those are the two things that I don't do! Instead I'm full of internal chaos and keep mulling the situation over and over in my mind.

Moses reminds the people that in order to see God's deliverance they need to stand firm and trust. In order to see how the Lord is going to work the people needed to calm down and be quiet. I do believe this verse is talking about our inner state of affairs because in the very next verse God asks Moses, "Why are you standing there?" "Move forward." God tells him to take action.

The people were to stop their panicked state and trust God and move forward. There in an internal stillness that happens only when we are absolutely trusting that God will work in a situation. We can stand firm, despite an enemy in hot pursuit, when we have faith that the Lord will deliver us. But we cannot hear the Lord's direction if our worries are shouting over His voice.

It was a good reminder to me as I face circumstances out of my control. There have been days when I've allowed my inner being to be full of panic and worry. It really felt as if there was a whole lot of chaos going on in my brain and when I'm in a place where the chaos is louder than God's voice I cannot hear what He is saying. As I read this passage and allowed God to speak to me, I began to feel His peace wash over me. I began to trust that He is going to work and I felt so much calmer.

I'm working at actively putting my concerns in His hands each time they start to buzz. I'm practicing saying, "God, I trust you." "You will work".  And it's helped to calm down the worry.

Stand firm. Be quiet. Trust.  

Good words for the new year.

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