Fear Not, Stand Still, God Will Fight For You

“And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.” —Exodus 14:13-14

A celebration was taking place as the children of Israel were walking out of Egypt as free people for the first time in generations. It was indeed a monumental occasion as God had rained down plague after plague that had left reeling the most powerful nation in the world of that day. The proclamation that came from Jehovah and guaranteed their deliverance was faith in the blood of the slain lamb. This guaranteed that when the blood was applied to the doorposts of their homes, God would spare His people from the angel of death.

Upon viewing the scene that lay before him, Pharaoh knew that he must rebuild his precious city, but the question was: How? The Hebrews, who slaved away to build that city, were now shouting the praises of God for their deliverance from Egyptian bondage. This caused the heart of Pharaoh to harden, and he made his play to bring them back into slavery.

There is an incredible spiritual lesson found in this scene. Sin is the legal right that Satan has to keep us enslaved in sin, but due to our faith being tied to what Christ has done, that right is now null and void. Christ has delivered us from the curse of the law, and we are free; however, we should never think that Satan will never come against us again. Instead, it will be the exact opposite. The Evil One will now begin to level an all-out attack against us to weaken or destroy our faith. Satan is not satisfied with losing us, so he will come after us again, and again, and again.

A Change In Tune
On another note, as Pharaoh was making his plans of attack, God was leading His people into an impossible situation. Before them was the Red Sea, and on either side of them were monolithic mountains staring down at them. There was no way out for the people of God. They could not penetrate the Red Sea alone, there was no path through the mountains, and with every second that passed, Pharaoh’s army was gaining ground. What were they to do? They could not swim, and they could not fight, and all they saw was either death or slavery. Their praise turned to a murmur, and their worship became complaints. They had forgotten what the Lord had done for them and how He brought them out of Egypt. They had forgotten how God used nature to reign down plague after plague, which left Egypt completely decimated, and they were now at the point of having a complete meltdown. Fear had so gripped their hearts that they threatened to stone Moses for leading them to this hopeless situation.

Before we judge them, we need to ask ourselves this question: How often are we guilty of the same thing? When things are going immensely well, we stay in a constant state of praise and worship, but the moment things get a little unsettled, how quickly we turn to complaints and fear. We tend to forget the things that God has done for us and how He has brought us through every trial and tribulation. We tend to forget that nothing takes God by surprise, and that He knows what He’s doing. Even though we have stated this time and again, we need to remember that everything that happens to us is either caused or allowed by God to occur. He does this in order to reveal to us who we are, and who He is. God allowed the children of Israel to travel this route for the direct purpose of showing His people who they were and who He is. During this time of confusion, fear, and forgetfulness, Moses spoke to the people and expressed the word of the Lord for them: fear not, stand still, and God will fight for you.

Fear Not
Fear is something that we all will encounter at some point in our lives. Things will take place that are out of our control that can lead us into a place of fear, despair, unrest, or anxiety. There is a legitimate fear of the unknown of what is going to occur, what tomorrow may bring, and how we will be affected. As the people of God were facing an uncertain future, some of you are facing an uncertain future, and fear has caused your hearts to grow weary and afraid. You cannot see the bright side of life, and neither are you experiencing a more abundant life. Be that as it may, the same word that Moses gave the children of Israel is what you need to hear right now—fear not.

It is not a coincidence that the term fear not, or one of its offshoots, is found more than 300 times in Scripture, for the Holy Spirit is trying to tell us something. Yes, we may be living in uncertain times, but we need not fear. Since God brought you out, then you can rest assured that He will bring you through. The answer for fear is in the cross, specifically in what Christ did. Through His work on Calvary’s cross, the fear that has gripped our lives was defeated. We should have confidence in the Lord to know that He will never leave us, and neither will He ever forsake us. When fear begins to knock on the door of your heart, let your faith answer, for faith is the overcoming factor for fear.

Stand Still
The second thing Moses told the children of Israel was to “stand still.” Understand that this is entirely against human nature. When bad things happen, the first thing we automatically want to do is to somehow fix the situation; however, many times we make things much worse when we try to change the circumstances. By standing still, we are relying upon what the Lord has already done. We are to place our faith in Christ and the cross, and never move it to something else. As Paul wrote, “Stand fast” (Gal. 5:1), which is difficult for us to do; however, to see the Lord work, we have to get out of the way.

What are we to do when we face problems in our lives that seem to never go away? We are to keep standing still, remaining steadfast in Christ, and never letting our faith move to something else. The reason for this is that when we stand still and keep our faith in Christ and the cross, that problem that has given us so much trouble will not be seen in that fashion any longer. Moses spoke to the people of God and informed them that the Egyptians, who had been such ominous, foreboding taskmasters, would not be seen in that fashion any longer. Some of our problems will not go away quickly, but they will go away if we continue to believe.

God Will Fight For You
The third message Moses delivered to the children of Israel was simple: If you do not fear, and if you stand still, then God will fight for you. Justification is God fighting for us, and sanctification is God fighting in us. We need to understand that we cannot fight this battle alone because, in reality, the battle is won. There might be difficulties that you are facing at this present time, and there might be problems with certain bondages that you cannot seem to get over, but the words of Moses are just as relevant now as they were then: fear not, stand still, and God will fight for you.

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