The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.
-Exodus 14:14
How do you deal with your problems?
Do you tend to dwell on them, focus in on how big they are, and stress out about how your going to solve them? Or, is your first response to look to the God of the universe who promises to fight your battle for you? If you’re at all like me, you probably worry about your problems a lot. Just last night, I lost sleep worrying about my own current situation. Funny thing is, I finally found rest when I quit focusing on my problems and asked God to fight for me. I needed to shift my focus. I needed to step back from the microscope I was looking at my problem through, and instead to look through the telescope at my infinitely capable God. Our verse teaches us to do just that.
In our verse, the people of God have their backs up against an impassable sea. They’re in a place that God actually directed them to go, a vulnerable place, a position only he could deliver them from. Soon, Pharoah gets wind of their tenuous location and decides to attack. And, when the world’s greatest army crests the horizon, “the people of Israel [lift] up their eyes… and they [fear] greatly.” In that moment their complete focus is on the enemy and all they can see is certain death. They forget the 10 miraculous plagues that God performed against this same enemy only a few days past. Instead, they say, “It would have been better to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert.” But, Moses responds in verses 13-14, “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.” God does exactly as Moses promises. He miraculously parts the sea, and the people walk across on dry land. But, when Pharoah and his army pursue them, God puts them into a panic, clogs their wheels, and sends the waters crashing back over them. God himself shifts the focus of his people. He removes completely their enemy, so they “never SEE [them] again.” Instead, they “SEE the deliverance” of the Lord.
Let’s just change one word in verses 13-14 to see how applicable these verses are for us:
“Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will SEE the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The [enemies/problems/struggles] you SEE today you will never SEE again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
Like the people of God then, the people of God today need to focus on him. We need to let him fight for us. He is the one who is able. We need simply to look to him to fulfill his promises and still our anxious hearts.
What things keep you up at night?
How can you ask God to step in and fight for you?
Do you think focusing on God instead of your problems would help still your anxious heart?
