Patti Burris

Exodus 14:13-14

¹³ 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. ¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

The Israelites were terrified. They couldn’t understand why Moses had led them out into the wilderness, only to die at the hands of the Egyptians. At that point they were wishing they had stayed in Egypt, where they served the Egyptians as slaves, but at least they were alive. They cried out to God in their distress and God heard them.

Moses gives them three commands:

Do not be afraid – Moses trusted God to protect them. He knew that God would not call them out of Egypt only to let them die at the hands of the Egyptians in the wilderness. Moses wanted the Israelites to trust God. He spoke to calm their fear and build their faith.

Stand firm – Moses had faith that God would deliver them from the Egyptians. He encouraged the Israelites to stand firm in their faith, trusting that God would deliver them from the oppression and slavery that they had lived with in Egypt.

Be still – Moses knew that God was already at work defeating the Egyptians. He encouraged the Israelites to be still, un-moving, to see how God would fight for them.

THE PROMISE:

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.

There have been times in my life when someone in my life lived to make my life miserable. I dreaded having to deal with these people. Like the Israelites, I too, cried out in fear and despair. I have felt helpless. I have wondered why God would allow this oppression and attitude of hate toward me when I did nothing to deserve this treatment.

There are times in life when we may not have control over someone else’s behavior. There may not be an immediate way out. As painful as it is to feel helpless, we will have to trust that God WILL deliver us from the situation. It may not be immediate. God may leave us in our struggle to bring about a bigger miracle, but never lose faith.

Do not be afraid of those who may keep you under the thumb of oppression. God is in control and He will defeat your enemy just as He defeated the Egyptians.

Stand firm in your faith. Never doubt that God is at work in your situation. There are times when it may not feel like it, but He really does have everything under control.

Be still and allow God to fight for you. You do not have to worry about defending yourself. God will protect you. God will defeat your enemies.

Do not be afraid. Stand firm and I will see the deliverance the Lord will bring me today. _____________________ I see today I will never see again. The Lord will fight for me; I need only to be still.

Fill in the blank to make this verse personal to you. Who or what do you need deliverance from? Hang on to this promise of God. The Lord WILL fight for you! The Lord WILL deliver you! I know how hard it is to be still, but please take heart! God has your back and HE WILL NEVER BREAK A PROMISE!