How many times have we, as children of God, heard these phrases:

You grow through what you go through

God gives His toughest battles to His strongest warriors

You go through what you’ve gone through to help others get through what they’re going through

Many of these phrases have been what I have clung to in my darkest times. For me, I found comfort in them and through reading in the Bible, I found countless events where these phrases where undoubtedly true. In Exodus 14, the story we experience is about God, through Moses, leading the Israelites out of captivity from the Egyptians.

As the Egyptians closed in on the fleeing Israelites, the Israelites cried out to the Lord and their faith failed them as they began to ask Moses if he had lead them to the desert to die. They became angry with Moses and reminded him that they had asked to remain in Egypt to serve the Egyptians; that serving the Egyptians was a better life than dying in the desert, fleeing from Pharaoh. (Exodus 14:11-12, NIV)

In the following verse, we are shown that Moses tells his people not to fear, and tells them that the Egyptians they see will never be seen again. (Exodus 14:13, NIV) How many times have we been told not to fear? How many times do you think Moses had to tell the Israelites not to fear as well?

Then, the best verse in this event is said by Moses. “The Lord will fight for you; you only need to be still.” (Exodus 14:14, NIV)

Read that again. The Lord will fight for you. He is in the trenches with us. He walks ahead of us, behind us and beside us. He fights for us, we need only to be still. How comforting is that? Even the Israelites struggled to acknowledge this truth. In the following verse, God talks to Moses, asking why he is crying out to Him. The Lord tells Moses to have the Israelites continue moving forward and for Moses to raise his staff at the sea for the Lord will make good on his promise to deliver the Israelites from the Egyptians. (Exodus 14:-15-30)

How incredible is our Lord, who saved an entire nation from captivity all those decades ago and is still in the same business today! He is active in our lives today, ensuring His promises to us, His children.

Looking back at the Israelites, we witnessed their faith failing and becoming fearful that they would be left for dead. We can empathize and understand their concern for their own lives, but at the end of this story, “…when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and is Moses his servant.” (Exodus 14:31)

Even through their moment of fear and questioning, our Lord still delivered them. He still held His promise and ensured their safety. If He did that for the Israelites, why wouldn’t He do that for us too? The answer is He will, and He does. The Lord fights for us daily, we only need to be still and have faith.

Be Still