Anchored In Peace

It was just like any other morning of Bible study. The house was quiet except for my german shepherd barking at every little noise he heard. After such a hard week, I needed to try to be still before God and listen for His still, small voice.

Opening my Bible, I began hoping God would somehow illuminate something that would minister to me and teach me, guiding my heart towards the wisdom I sought. It seemed like every time I would start to read, something would happen to distract me from listening for that still, small voice of God. First there was a sudden noise from outside, then a thought about all of the “what if” scenarios I had created in my mind, and then it was the long list of to do’s that awaited me. I longed for a moment of peace but it seemed like anxiety and stress were winning at the moment.

As I sat with my Bible opened, a verse suddenly jumped out at me. Exodus 14:13 NKJV says:

“Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you and you shall hold your peace.”

You shall hold your peace. God doesn’t want us going around trying to “fix” everything or trying to figure things out. He doesn’t want us to become so anxious and worried about our circumstances that we quit living. What He wants from us is for us to surrender our every care to Him so He can fight our battles for us. He wants us to let go, stand still and trust Him.

Be Still Before God

As I began to do an in-depth study of this verse, I learned something about God and the people of Israel. What I learned was our generation is not much different from the Israelites of the Old Testament and God still wants to fight our battles.

Leading up to Exodus 14:13, Pharaoh had just let the people go, and they were leaving Egypt heading for the promised land. They were filled with excitement and hope for what lay ahead, yet, astonishingly, they did nothing but complain. It seemed like every time they turned around, there was something to grumble about, from the lack of food to the uncertainty of their new path. You would think they would be grateful for their deliverance, for the oppressive chains of slavery they had just escaped, but instead, their hearts were filled with murmuring and complaining. Each obstacle became an opportunity to voice their frustrations, revealing a deep-seated tendency to overlook the miracles they had just witnessed.

But if you look closely, the Israelites were not lead the easier, faster route which would have taken them through the land of the Philistines. Instead, God led them through the edge of the wilderness because the Philistines were at war. He was protecting them. God didn’t want the Israelites to change their minds because of fear and head back to Egypt.

How many times in our lives have we prayed for a quick, easy deliverance only to be waiting for days, months, or years for an answer? Sometimes the road to our answered prayers is going to be paved with knee prints. Although delay is not denial, we can begin to grow weary in the battle if we fail to remember God’s promises to us.

When the Israelites were led into the wilderness, it was not supposed to be a place for them to take up refuge. They were supposed to be going through. Inasmuch, our wilderness is not an end to all ends. We are going through. But sometimes our discouragement causes us to remain stuck in this place. We become stuck in our fears, our failures and our circumstances. We can’t break free because we have taken our eyes off of our Deliverer.

Be Still and See God’s Deliverance

As Pharaoh’s heart grew harder, and the Egyptians began to surround the Israelites, fear began to arise in the hearts of the people and they begin to cry out to God. As they cry out, God asks Moses, “Why do you cry out to me?” Tell the children of Israel to go forward.” God’s reply to their crying was basically, stop crying and throwing a pity party and begin to move forward.

Some of us need to hear this right now. Put your eyes back on the One who can bring true deliverance. God has a beautiful pathway of deliverance set out for you if you will only trust Him. There may not be an army chasing you down, but God wants to fight your battle; you only need to be still and trust Him. Instead of giving in to complaining and despair, we need to be still and watch the salvation of our Lord. Listen for His still, small voice and be obedient to His leading.

Listening For His Still, Small Voice

If you’re like me, it’s not always easy to hear God’s voice. When a battle is raging all around us, we usually default to panic, murmuring and complaining. And then we pray, rebuke, quote scriptures and pray some more. All the while God is wanting us to come to Him and ask Him what we are supposed to do to have victory. God doesn’t want us to become weary from doing, He wants us to stand still and allow Him to work in our lives. He will lead us in the right direction.

Oftentimes, we are brought to our knees so God can raise us up again. It is at this moment we can hear the voice of God telling us, “Do not be afraid. Stand still and allow me to fight this battle for you.”

There are so many times in our lives we forget God wants to fight for us. Our pride sets in and we try to fix our problems ourselves. The very miracle God wants to do in our lives is missed because we are not allowing Him to work in our circumstance. We stop just before the breakthrough because we have wearied ourselves fighting our own battles. I have to wonder how many miracles I have missed because I didn’t allow God to fight my battle for me. Instead, I took matters into my own hands and grew faint fighting a battle I was never meant to fight.

When we learn to empty ourselves of us, we begin to realize how much we need God. With our complete surrender and our broken hallelujahs, He is able to move on our behalves and fight our battles for us.

The Israelites stood and saw the deliverance of God. Exodus 14:21 NKJV says:

“Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters divided.”

God had a way of deliverance for the Israelites. The only thing they had to do was to stand still and trust in His divine protection and deliverance. To man, things looked impossible, but God always has a way of deliverance. In fact, verse 25 says:

“Let us fall from the face of Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.”

God will cause your enemies to tremble and flee!

Conclusion

The enemy knows the power of our God. We need to stop allowing the battles in our lives to cause us to forget the power of God. When the battle is raging, and everything seems to be falling apart, we need to dig in our heals, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord. He is waiting with open arms for us to surrender and run to Him.

Begin to give your worries and battles to the Lord and allow Him to fight for you. You can maintain your peace in the valley.