Distrubed or Still?

And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” 

Exodus 14:13-14

How many of you have ever heard the term: “Circuit Riders”? Circuit Riders were preachers back in the 1700s and 1800s who would ride from church to church and hold services. There were more churches than preachers in that day and a Circuit Rider would travel from congregation to congregation.

One Circuit Rider was out riding one afternoon and came upon a man out working in his field. Thinking to start a conversation and invite the man to church, the preacher called out: "Fine day isn't it?

"It's fine for you", the man replied, "All you have to do is ride around on that horse thinking about God all day long, while I have to sweat here in this field and then walk home afterward. I don't think it’s right you should have things so easy while I have to work so hard.”

The preacher responded: “You’re right. You do work hard in the fields and I admire that, but you need to realize that the kind of work I do is a work of different kind.”

“Yeah, sure”, the man answered. “But it’s not really work. All you do is ride around thinking about God all the time. That’s not hard.”

“Oh, but it’s harder than you think", the minister answered. And then a thought occurred to him: “I tell you what. Just to prove to you how difficult it can be to ‘think about God’ - if you can think about God and nothing else for 1 minute… I'll give you my horse.”

“You can’t be serious,” said the farmer.

But the preacher assured him he was.

“You're on”, said the man and immediately he sat down in silence.

Ten seconds went by… then 20 seconds… then 25 seconds.

About then, the farmer looked up at the minister, and said,

“Does that include the saddle?”

All the man had to do to get that horse was say nothing.

All he had to do was “think” about God… and nothing else for 60 SECONDS.

But he couldn’t do that.

Moses and the Israelites were about to cross the Red Sea while the Egyptians were after them. The Israelites were all afraid of the incoming danger and massacre should they be caught from behind by their enemies. But the promise of God to them is definite, powerful and very assuring.

A “stilled” life is a sanctified Life and it means a “set apart” or declared “holy” or consecrated. To have a stilled life one needs to be holy in the sight of God. Let us remember that the Israelites needed to be sanctified by God through the blood of the lamb that was painted or brushed in the doorpost of each of their houses, and they need to eat the remains of the lamb. The process of eating the lamb, and painting its blood to their houses symbolizes the sanctification of God for everyone of them. They were set apart for the deliverance of God because they were sanctified.

A stilled life is a life full of trust to His Maker. Moses was full of trust and faith to God when he led his nation out from bondage. God promised Moses and the Israelites, “don’t be afraid, stand firm, and see His deliverance”. Our trust to God must be not only be felt within (don’t be afraid), but must be reflected with our actions (stand firm) and the way we think and see the outcome of His power (see the Lord’s deliverance)! From these promises, it’s already an assurance that God will deliver us from any impending danger. What we need is only to trust Him and He will do the fighting for us. By being calm and still let us hold that trust to God.

Israel wanted to flee to the greener pastures on the other side of the fence. But they find themselves stuck between the Red Sea in front of them and the Egyptian Army that has come out in full force behind them. Israel panicked. I saw a poster this week that read:

F.E.A.R.:

Face Everything And Run or

Face Everything And Rise,

the choice is yours.

Israel couldn’t run or rise as it would seem, so they complained and blamed Moses, and wanted to go back to their bondage in Egypt.

The phrase “stand still” can also mean “stand firm.” Moses was facing what appeared to be an inevitable danger. Yet he seems unruffled and tells the people to do the same. He says to them, “Don’t be afraid. Be still and know that He is God, stand firm in your trust in Him and watch what He will do. Just stay calm.”

Moses met their fears with strong faith. To Moses fear meant Face Everything And Rise. Where did Moses get his courage? He looked at that pillar of cloud and knew God was with him, he knew God was still accompanying them, and his confidence grew, solely on the hope of a loving and powerful God. He may not have expected how God was going to deliver them, but he knew he could trust God.

They needed to surrender not to hopelessness, not to the enemy, but to God. He would deliver them, but God had to test their faith, would they obey Him. It seems that after Moses spoke these words of faith, he went before the Lord, in prayer, crying out to God. Moses had to get on his face in the presence of God. His faith was in God, this is where his courage came from. And so before he could move forward, he had to first stand still before God.

Being silent or being still is one of the most challenging and least practiced disciplines among Christians today. Yet this (being still before God) is vital to growing in Christ and growing in faith. Being still where we connect with God; that is where we remind ourselves of where our hope lies; that is where our faith grows, that is where we surrender to Him. That is where we hear from God and get direction and guidance from Him. He will direct our path.

Dear Friends let us slow down the pace of our lives and balance activity with contemplation. There are great spiritual disciplines each one a tool and gift for us in our journey with Jesus. Yet we need a time of stopping to surrender, stopping to surrender to God in trust.

This Lenten Season let us Stand still in God’s presence, and then go forward in God’s Power.

 

God Bless You.