Verse: Exodus 14:14
14 “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
Devotional Thoughts:
I love this verse. The Israelites have left Egypt just to run into the giant barrier called the Red Sea, and Pharaoh and his army are closing in. Why would God lead them there? They have nowhere to run! It doesn’t make any sense whatsoever.
The Israelites are understandably on edge. God had done great things in Egypt, and they’d been able to just walk away from the city and head to the promised land. But God had lead them directly into a sea, and they didn’t have any boats. Worse yet, Pharaoh changed his mind. Was God’s plan falling apart? This wasn’t how this was supposed to go.
They make their protests known to Moses, and Moses responds with an inspiring speech. He says:
“Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today…The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
Points to Ponder:
We all know how this story ends. God divides the Red Sea, saves the Israelites, and defeats Pharaoh and his army.
But then again, that’s part of the problem isn’t it? We know how this story ends. We know how God intervenes in their lives.
Several of you reading this are probably at a point in your life that you’re asking God, “Why?” Why did you lead me here? Where are you? Why are you delaying? Do you really care about me?
But maybe our very premise is wrong. The big issue with the Israelites is that they think they know how this should go. Or, perhaps more succinctly, they know how this exodus shouldn’t go. They shouldn’t be stuck between a giant sea and the most powerful army in the world. They should be halfway through their journey to the promised land.
But I imagine that if God had spelled out his blueprint for their journey down – leave Egypt, divide the Red Sea, etc. – they might’ve taken it a little bit differently. Maybe a little bit more confidently.
Like I said, maybe, like the Israelites, our premise is wrong. We get frustrated with God’s timing or God’s delaying simply because we think we know how our lives should be going, or at least how they shouldn’t be going. Why do we do that? God is the one who has created us, saved us, given us purpose – why do we tend to think that we know better than him how our lives should be going?
The reality is that God has a plan, and his execution of his plan is perfect. That means his timing is perfect. We don’t see the big picture now. But God does. God is already present in our tomorrows, in our 10 years from now, in our last years on earth – God’s already there. He knows how he’s working everything out.
One of my favorite Christian bands, Casting Crowns, has a song called Already There. It speaks of this reality. Here are a few of the lines:
From where I’m standing
Lord it’s so hard for me to see
Where this is going
And where You’re leading me
I wish I knew how
All my fears and all my questions
Are gonna play out
In a world I can’t control
When I’m lost in the mystery
To You my future is a memory
Cause You’re already there
God knows what he’s doing with your life. We don’t see the big picture now. But I think we’ll look back on our lives and be grateful for how God was working all along. Trust him. He sees the big picture. You might be standing at your metaphorical Red Sea right now. Just because it doesn’t make sense to you doesn’t mean it doesn’t make sense. Trust in God. He’ll be there for you.
