Skip to main content

Between a Rock and a Hard Place - Responding to Fear: Part 2

In the previous post, we saw where Moses and the Israelites we seemingly trapped.  They had the Red Sea on one side and were being pursued by the Egyptian army with all its horses and chariots on the other.  The people were fearful, and one could argue rightly so given their circumstances.  But they fear revealed a deeper problem, a lack of faith in God, their deliverer.

As the people cried out to Moses saying that it would have been better to live in slavery in Egypt than to die in the wilderness (Ex 14:12), Moses was once again looked upon to lead.  How would he respond in these desperate times?  Moses did what we need more leaders to do today, he pointed them back towards God.  In Exodus 14:13, Moses said, "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today."  Moses reminded the people of God's pending deliverance.  God had not brought the people this far from slavery in Egypt and now heading towards freedom to let them down now.

Some translations of verse 13 begin with, "Don't be afraid" or is it read "Fear not."  As the people were facing insurmountable odds, Moses reminded them that they had no reason to fear.  The people had become too focused on the circumstances they could see again (Pharaoh's approaching army) that they had forgotten about God who they could not see.  The people were commanded to "stand firm and see."  They were not commanded to swim for it, run for it, or fight for it, but to stand and see the salvation, or deliverance, of the Lord as only He could provide.  God was preparing to do what Israel could not do.

Moses' next command is one that seems to go against conventional wisdom.  In verse 14, he says, "The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent."  Moses told the Israelites to be quiet because they couldn't save themselves or fix the situation they were in.  The people would have to rely on God to save them.  Moses' command of "being quiet then was not a matter of inaction but of faith.  It requires faith to stop complaining when the circumstances around us seem overwhelming."  The same applies to us, "When faced with difficulty we tend to do one of two things: we work and fight with all our might doing everything we can, or we give up and complain about the impossible situation we are in." 

How do you respond to fear?  Do you attempt to take on whatever it is you're facing alone?  Or do you seek God's guidance and follow His plan?  Choosing to face your fear is not trusting in yourself, but in God's promises, grace, and power to save.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2020 is Hindsight...Finally!

Wow, what a year! 2020 could literally be an entire decade, maybe more, of history, change, and lessons rolled up into these twelve months. While many aspects of 2020 were kind of sucky and we would like to forget them, it will certainly be a year to remember. And it will be enlightening when this year is looked back on in 10, 25, or 50 years to be discussed. I wonder if we'll seem like geniuses or idiots? Probably both to some extent! While there is so much that I could consider and analyze about this year, I'll try to break some of it down into four dimensions - Physical, Spiritual, Mental, and Social/Emotional. These are events and happenings from my world and perspective and I'm trying to be open in sharing and would love to hear from others on events you found most transforming. Physical When COVID cause gyms to close, that messed me up. Our town and state were late to be hit with severe cases and therefore later than many across the country to close up shop. I'm n...
Post a Comment
Read more

Worship > Fellowship

I believe that worship, true worship of God, is more important than fellowship with other believers.  Now I'm not saying that fellowship and relationships aren't important.  But I am saying that if I'm not worshiping God, if I'm not right with him, then my other relationships can't be right.  My fellowship and worship with him is more important than my relationship with my wife, my son, family, friends, my church, and my community.  Think about it.  How can I love my wife like Christ loved the church if I don't love Christ?  I wouldn't know how to love without knowing him.  Why should she submit to me if I'm not worth submitting to?  And yes I do believes wives should submit, but I also believe that won't be an issue as long as she's submitting to a godly husband.  (Ephesians 5:22-25) Our love for others must flow from our love and worship of God.  1 John 4:19-21 reads, "We love because he first loved us.  If anyone says,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Do You Need Revival?

"Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in You?" - Psalm 85:6 The thoughts below were in my devotional this morning by Dr. Lee Sheppard: "So how can we know if we need revival in our lives?  Well, we need revival when our salvation has lost its joy, when our sin does not break our heart, and when we make little to no effort to witness to the lost.  We need revival when worship becomes boring, when we are at odds with believers and see no need for reconciliation, and when we fail to believe God for the impossible.  We need revival when we have to be begged to give and serve in church and when we would rather make money than give money.  We need revival when we have to be entertained to be drawn to church and when we are indifferent to the fact that there are 2.5 billion people on the planet who have never heard the name of Jesus.  We need revival when we don't regularly see the supernatural evidence of God's power and when ...
Post a Comment
Read more