The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”…Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long. (Exodus 14:14, 19&20 NIV84)
There are times when you are caught between the proverbial “rock and a hard place”, and there is nothing you can do about the situation you are in. The only thing you can do is rely upon God for 100% of what you need. This is the case with the Israelites in our verses for today. Pharaoh, and whatever soldiers he could muster together, once again changed their minds and went after the Israelites to bring them back to Egypt. The Israelites were probably not outnumbered, but they were certainly outgunned. They were in no position to do battle with the Egyptian army. So, with the Egyptians on one side and the Red Sea on the other, the Israelites were trapped in what seemed to be an impossible situation. They grumbled to Moses. Moses called on the Lord. Word from Moses to God’s people was for them to “be still!” Why? Because the Lord would be fighting for them. That’s right! God would take care of everything. There are times when that’s what has to happen. The angel of the Lord and the pillar moved behind the Israelites and positioned themselves between the Israelites and the Egyptian Army. The Egyptian army could do nothing. During the night it remained dark on the Egyptian side and light on the side of the Israelites. Indeed, it was the Lord who fought for them and brought them out of their impossible situation.
He has done the same thing for you and me through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. There was nothing we could do to rid ourselves of our sin and the consequences that separated us from God. We were in an impossible situation. But Jesus moved between us and our enemy (Satan) and bore our sins on the cross as if they were His offenses. He waged war against the force that desired our eternal destruction and won. With the words “It is finished!” Jesus assures us that He was victorious over everything that separated us from God. He made all this new!
If God could fight for the Israelites and gain victory for them, if He could fight for us and gain the victory over death itself, then what about the smaller battles you and I face on a daily basis? Maybe we should stop trying to fight those battles alone and let God do the fighting for us.
Peace!
Pastor Tom
www.firmlyrooted.church
