"The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still….tell the Israelites to move on." Exodus 14:14-15
The Israelites are facing an unbeatable enemy at the moment God gives them the above command. It took all of ten divine miracles to deliver them from the fury of hell’s enslavement. And now the tyrant has belched out a final stampede of hatred because he knows he has lost his slave labor. The people have been liberated; the war should be over. But no! One last time, the tyrant will not be humiliated. He unleashes his assault to regain his plunder. This is the mentality of tyranny; it wants to possess you. It declares that you belong to it, that you serve it, that you have no right to leave it, that you must obey it.
What satanic lie has Pharoah tried to groom in your mind? You’ll never be free from…abandonment, anger, fear, lust, bondage, poverty, abuse, addiction, guilt!? Is he threatening your job? A relationship? Tenure? A future security? Those are the threats of abusers. And to be fair, it takes a warrior to free you from a strongman. If it were easy you could have escaped on your own. But you needed God. You needed a warrior God who marches out in a display of strength and zeal. “The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you.” Zephaniah 3:17
What does God tell the people? “Be still…move on.”
One translation captures the sense better, “hold your peace.” Your soul is in an uproar. The voices in your head are shouting and all your alarm bells are ringing, because you know your abuser is furious. In the past, this sort of situation has only led to greater punishment and pain. But “hold your peace.” This time it is different. God is your warrior, and he is telling you “the LORD will fight for you.” You are learning to trust in his strength and not your strength. Don’t let your soul get in God’s way; don’t let fear or overreaction sabotage God’s solution. Tell the voices in your head to take a back seat, and give God room to move. Press into his plans. Pray. Depend on him. Trust in his pathway and not your feelings.
Being still is not the same as being passive, it is aligning your soul with God’s solutions. God tells the people to “be still and move on.” Keep moving. Don't let fear paralyze you. Keep following your deliverer. Don’t get distracted by the intimidation or slander. Listen to the voice of your commander. He will lead you through the battlefield, but it is his battle to fight. Abusers can’t name you and dictators can’t claim you. You belong to the Lord—the compassionate and gracious God—and he is fighting on your behalf. Stay in alignment with his plan. Here is a powerful prayer you can pray from psalms 62, “I am at rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will never be shaken.”
Tags: trust, freedom, redemption, plan, fight, battle, soul, abuse, bondage, be still, voices, tyrants, abusers, dictators
