Who, me? It’s not my fault…we sometimes want to say. Blaming someone else for our sorry situation can be so tempting. When we mess up, pointing at another promises to be the easy way out.
That’s what the Israelites did.
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.” (Exodus 14: 10-14)
Have you ever complained like that? I have. Goodness gracious, where is Moses when we need him? Deep into our own struggles, we end up terrified like the Israelites. We grumble in the hot desert of frustration. And as we trudge through the dry land of conflict, of uncertainty and nervousness, we desperately look to be rescued.
But no one is there to do the rescuing. And when peace is gone, like those Egyptians, stress and anxiety come after us, threatening to ruin our day.
But should Moses show up in the midst of social media frenzy, He might use tweets to remind us: “The Lord will fight our battles; all we have to do is be still.”
That’s because in the still of God’s presence is when our nights know His peace. In the still of our heart is when His whisper brushes through. And in the still of the moment is when we see His promises come alive.
Can you tell me, in the midst of your hectic life, what keeps you from being still?
Janet P. Eckles