Stand Firm
“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 14:13-14 (NIV)
Have you ever been in a situation so difficult that you hadn’t got a clue how to resolve it? Have you ever had a problem so huge that there was no way you could solve it? I know I have. When faced with such enormous challenges the human response often falls in one of three directions:
a. To Fight – To actively try and attack the problem. To muster all of our strength in an effort to try and overcome the difficulty. To attempt to manipulate the situation.
b. To take flight – To run away from the problem. To hide and pretend it doesn’t exist. To escape from the reality and the pressure of the situation.
c. To freeze – To become paralysed. Motionless. Unable to act or carry on. To be like a cat caught in the headlights.
But what can we do when none of these human responses is a viable option to an insurmountable issue? What can we do in circumstances that we can’t fight against, where we can’t run away, and to not act will see us flattened?
This is exactly the position the Israelites found themselves in after their exodus from Egypt. They were stuck between the Egyptians and the Red Sea. Fighting wasn’t an option as this ragtag group of former slaves would be no match for the professional Egyptian army. There was nowhere to run and hide, and to freeze and do nothing would have seen them mowed down. What were they to do? What are we to do in similar circumstances?
Typical of the Israelites their reaction was to bemoan their lot, “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!’” (Exodus 14:12). Unfortunately this can often be our reaction too: ‘It would have been better if I had stayed and blended into this world rather than suffer as a Christian.’ But for the Christian let me suggest, as Moses does here, that there is another option when we are faced with impossible positions: God. He will fight our battles and he will deliver us. He delivered the Israelites from their predicament, and he can do the same for us today.
So in the circumstances we face, stop fighting, stop running, stop being motionless, rather stand firm in the knowledge that God will fight for us and will deliver us.
Prayer
Father, please help me in my times of powerlessness to stand firm in the comforting knowledge that you will fight my battles for me. Help me to be still in your presence and trust in your deliverance.
Amen
Study by Barry Robinson
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About the Author:
Barry Robinson is an Elder in and pastoral worker in the Greater London area, particularly the Camberwell and North London congregations of the Worldwide Church of God UK.
Local Congregation:
Worldwide Church of God London
Indian YMCA
Mahatma Gandhi Hall
41 Fitzroy Square
LONDON
W1T 6AQ
Meeting time:
Saturday 2:30pm L
ocal Congregational Contact:
Martin Ryan
Phone: 020 8202 3998
Email: martin_ryan@wcg.org.uk