Day 34 reading: Exodus, chapters 13-15
As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”
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. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (14:10-14, NIV)
This week is the year anniversary of my husband losing his job (see “Walking in it”), which was the moment when we learned how to be still before God. It was kind of like learning to swim by being thrown into the deep end, but sometimes it takes something extreme to teach us the greatest lessons. As Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt, he dealt with a population of scared, unsure, and wavering people. They would have much rather remained in the safety of the “dry land” of Egypt than to be thrown in the deep end of the pool, under siege by their previous rulers.
Then Moses said to the people, “Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the Lord brought you out of it with a mighty hand.” (13:3, NIV)
My man and I have had an interesting year since that anniversary, and though we have still wavered in uncertainty at times, just like the Israelites, we have also seen the mighty hand of the Lord at work every day. He truly goes ahead of us each with a proverbial pillar of cloud to guide by day, and a pillar of fire to give light by night. He provides, He protects, He restores!
So, my question for you is: Where is your Egypt? Where have our Lord and Provider delivered you? Are you sitting somewhere now, wondering if this is really what He had in mind? Did you miss a Road Sign somewhere, or are you still on the path He set before you? We ALL have times like the Israelites when we’d just as soon return to the comforts of our old life just to avoid the struggles and uncertainty of today, but Moses reassures us today: THE LORD WILL FIGHT FOR YOU; YOU NEED ONLY TO BE STILL.
The best lesson I can share for all who are dealing with this battle with uncertainty right now, I learned a year ago. The Lord created us as human-beings, not human-doings; the less we do to try to force God’s hand, the easier He can work through us uninhibited. Steve and my mantra throughout the past year has been, “Not my will but Your will.” This is the same lesson Moses was conveying to the Israelites. We need only to be still and know that He is God.
Amen!
Day 35 reading: Exodus, chapters 16-18
Make it a great day,
Marilyn
Written by Marilyn Rowe Horton
Leave a comment