DON'T BE AFRAID, STAND FIRM AND BE STILL

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

"Then the Lord said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon. Pharaoh will think, 'The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.' And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord." So the Israelites did this. When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, "What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!" So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly. The Egyptians—all Pharaoh's horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon. As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!"
Moses answered the people, "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 14:1-14

The final chapter of God versus Pharoah is not yet finished as we enter Chapter 14. God knew Pharoah had truly surrendered his heart to Him and would make yet one more attempt to go back on his word and return Israel to slavery. God, however, showed once again that He had other plans.
We can draw a parallel between Pharoah, who repeatedly sought to keep oppressing the Israelites, and Satan who repeatedly seeks to oppress us. You see, the only way Israel was going to be free from their bondage was to turn their trust over to God in all things. Likewise, if we wish to ward off Satan, we need to constantly place our hope and trust in God, keeping Him closer to us than anything else in life. For Satan and God will never co-exist in the same place and time. It’s impossible to be afflicted by Satan if you keep the Lord closer to you than anything else.

Back to our scripture. God, through Moses, tells the people of Israel "to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They (were) to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon." God knew how Pharoah would react before he actually acted, pursuing Israel with his army with a hope of returning them to slavery. Pharoah saw Israel as nothing more than a labor force. God, however, saw Israel as His beloved nation…and he would protect her against any foe. Satan sees us as sinful pawns that he can manipulate and move during the course of a game. God, however, sees us as a people in need of mercy, forgiveness and love…and He delivers on His promises, protecting us from the evil one, our foe.
So with the stage set for a possible climatic showdown between Pharoah, his army and Israel, we see that there were more problems than just the Egyptians. For God’s own people allowed themselves to lose faith in what God could and would do for them. We read that as they see Pharoah and his great army approach, the Israelites "were terrified and cried out to the Lord." They also cry out to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!" Anxiety and fear had overcome Israel, just as Satan had hoped it would. For he wished that they would give up hope and his wish now was being fulfilled.

Question: Do you have problems that race toward you like Pharoah’s army, wishing to entrap you and hold you captive? Has anxiety, stress and fear led you to feelings of unfaithfulness? Have you felt your hope…your faith…your trust dwindle away under the weight of life’s challenges and trials?

At the end of today’s passage, we see Moses responding to the cries of the Israel with words of encouragement and strength…words spoken for us as well today. Moses said, ""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." From this, we are given four key truths to remember as we travel this Christian walk and face its challenges:

1. Do not be afraid. We serve an awesome God who has promised to always watch over us…to never leave us nor forsake us…to never give us s burden we can’t bear. We serve an almighty, omnipotent, all holy and all loving God who we should trust in all matters because He is God and there is nothing He can’t do. This, I pray will be what rallies us in 2008…that we would "not be afraid" but trust in the Lord unequivocally.

2. Stand firm. We need not waver in our faith when difficulties arise. You’ll recall Jesus’ disciples afraid in the boat when the waves started to build up and toss the boat to and fro. Jesus was asleep below deck and the disciples, fearing for their life, woke Him up and wondered how He could sleep when they were about to perish. Jesus admonishes His disciples for not having faith and calmed the raging seas with a wave of His hands. As Moses told Israel to "stand firm", he was essentially telling them to trust God…a mighty God who was to help them then just as He helps us today.

3. The Lord fights for us and delivers us. God wants us to be free of the burdens that plague us. He wants us to just put our faith and trust in Him, knowing that He can and will deliver us in accordance with His will. He will fight our battles and ultimately reign victorious.

4. Be still. Philippians 4:6-7 tells us that when we trust God to handle our problems through prayer and petition, we find the peace of God that transcends all understanding and our hearts and minds are guarded by Christ Jesus. Yet, so often, we refuse to let go and let God, failing to find the peace that has been promised . The Lord would want us to pause every day and reflect on what He has done for us. He would want us to be still and listen to His comforting still, small voice. He would want us to be patient and know He will help work out any situation we might go through.

Don’t be afraid, stand firm, and be still. All are God’s expectations as we step out in the world each and every day. Friends, we truly serve a powerful God who loves us so much He will fight for us and deliver us. Thanks be to God for His goodness, mercy and grace.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

http://www.faithhopeandlove.info/

Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com