REFLECTION

STAND STILL

After leading Israel through a winding and unexpected route, God brought them to the edge of the Red Sea. Mountains surrounded them on either side, and behind them, the Egyptian army approached. Pharaoh, angered by the loss of Israel, pursued them with full force.

God was leading the Israelites toward deliverance. Yet before that deliverance arrived, it appeared as though Pharaoh might regain control. The tension among the Israelites must have been overwhelming. Exodus 14:10 tells us that the Israelites were terrified. But another natural reaction could have been a sense of betrayal. They had just gained their freedom, and now Pharaoh was approaching with superior military resources, ready to drag them back into bondage.

In moments when we, like the Israelites, are consumed with fear, our instinct is often to react. Some may want to run, flee, or escape the opposition pursuing them. Others may feel the urge to fight. Yet, fear does not only produce physical action. It can also lead to panic, anger, despair, or frantic attempts to solve the problem. Fear creates a deep tension within us, and our natural impulse is often to do something, anything, that might relieve that tension.

Yet, Moses gives an instruction that feels completely counterintuitive.

He begins by saying, “Do not be afraid.”

This statement does not dismiss the emotions the Israelites were experiencing, nor does it deny the seriousness of their situation. Instead, it invites them to see their circumstances from a different perspective. Moses then gives them a remarkable instruction: “Stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again” (Exodus 14:13).

Then Moses offers a powerful statement of trust and reassurance: “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still” (Exodus 14:14).

One lesson we can draw from Moses’ words is how fear shapes the way we see our circumstances. Because we know how the story ends, we have the advantage of recognizing that something extraordinary was about to happen. The Israelites, however, did not know that God would part the Red Sea. Moses himself did not yet know exactly how God would deliver them. He only trusted that God would make a way.

Fear has a way of clouding our vision. When we are afraid, our attention becomes fixed on the threat in front of us and the ways we might escape it. Our focus narrows until all we can see is the danger. In that state, it becomes difficult to recognize what God might already be doing.

By encouraging the Israelites not to be afraid and to stand firm, Moses was inviting them to move beyond the panic of the moment and trust that God was present. His words created the possibility for them to steady themselves long enough to witness what God was about to do.

Soon they would experience a miracle unlike anything they had ever seen, and unlike anything most people in history would ever witness: walking through the Red Sea on dry ground. Fear could easily have blinded them to the magnitude of that moment.

In many ways, the same thing happens in our lives. Fear can create a kind of tunnel vision that prevents us from seeing the larger story God is unfolding. Sometimes, the very situation that terrifies us in the present exists because of an answered prayer from an earlier season. The Israelites were standing at the Red Sea because God had already freed them from the bondage of Egypt.

It is easy to become so consumed with the problem in front of us that we fail to recognize the ways God is already moving in our lives.

The Israelites standing at the Red Sea also invite another important reflection on our own lives. There are moments when we feel as though we have received something we deeply hoped for. It might be a job, a relationship, a change in our financial situation, or healing in our bodies. Yet sometimes it can appear as though what we hoped for is slipping away or being taken from us.

Yet God is not unjust. God does not, and will not, give us glimpses of goodness simply to torment us. God is not playing with our emotions or tempting us with false hope. If we have tasted something good and later experience loss or uncertainty, it does not mean God has abandoned us. Often, it means something is unfolding beyond the present moment that we cannot yet see.

Just as the Israelites would soon walk through the Red Sea on dry land, there may be something beyond our current moment of fear or uncertainty that God is preparing.

This truth allows us to practice what might be called active rest. It allows us to release the sense of urgency that fear often creates. We can be still because we do not have to fight the battle ourselves. Whether the army we face is physical or the battles taking place within our minds, we can trust that God is able to make a way.

MOVE ON

Immediately after Moses tells the Israelites, “Stand still and you will see the deliverance of the Lord,” the Lord speaks to Moses and asks, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on” (Exodus 14:15).

At first, this seems contradictory. Moses had just told the people to stand still, and now God is telling them to move forward. Yet the following verse helps us understand that these commands are not actually in conflict. In verse 16 God says, “Raise your staff, stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide the waters.”

God is not diminishing the trust that comes from stillness. Instead, God is calling Moses to act from that place of trust. Moses is invited to harness the faith that comes from believing in God’s deliverance and to recognize the resources that are already in his hands, just like when they met at the burning bush.

Stillness is a posture of the heart. Movement is the action we take when God calls us to participate.

Consider this: Could God have parted the Red Sea without Moses? Of course. Moses’ participation was not necessary for God’s power, but it was meaningful for humanity. This moment was not simply about displaying what God could do. It was also about revealing how God chooses to work through people. God’s power was not only being displayed; it was being expressed through the willingness of someone who chose to trust.

The staff in Moses’ hand was ordinary, a piece of wood with no power of its own, until God chose it as an instrument of power. Moses had already seen what God could do with that seemingly ordinary stick, from the signs at the burning bush to the plagues in Egypt. The Israelites had not witnessed those earlier moments, but now they would see for themselves how God could work through something that seemed small and insignificant. In doing this, God was not only reminding Moses of the authority and responsibility he carried, but God was also showing the Israelites that power is not limited to dramatic displays from heaven. God often works through people who are willing to trust and use what they already have.

At the same time, God was teaching the Israelites something about themselves as they stepped into their new life of freedom. Years of bondage may have eroded their sense of worth and identity. Slavery has a way of convincing people that they are small, powerless, and insignificant. But as they stood at the edge of the Red Sea, God was revealing more than a miracle. In many ways, what Moses was doing pointed to what the Israelites themselves would become. Just as the staff in Moses’ hand was used to display God’s power, the Israelites would become the staff in God’s hands. Through their trust and obedience, their lives would become a testimony of what God can do through people who choose to trust. They were not simply a rescued people. They were a people who would make the name of God known.

That invitation still extends to us today.

Sometimes we look at the suffering in the world and ask, “God, why is the world like this? Why are people suffering?” Yet sometimes God’s response may echo the question asked of Moses: “Why are you crying out to me? Step forward and watch what I will do. You are part of what I am doing in the world.”