Be Still and Know
The one sentence that makes up Exodus 14:14 is filled with so much beautiful truth.
Let’s consider context:
The Israelite people are leaving all the security they have known in Egypt, being pursued by a seemingly superior Egyptian army, and face crossing a sea. They're walking a lot, possibly wondering why they are taking the long way around. What the Israelites can't see yet is that God is about to destroy their enemies, lead them to safety, and part the sea in front of them.
"The Lord will fight for you..." (Ex. 14:14a).
God cares about our protection and security. In fact, He does not just care -- He is our protection and constantly fighting for us, as only the One omniscient (defined as all-knowing) being can. Only the One who knows all things, present and past, can adequately protect us from the dangers at hand and ahead. And only the One who knows all things can effectively fight for us. How do we know God is all knowing? This story gives us a perfect example. As we saw earlier, the Israelites have no idea what lies ahead, but God knows and leads them the way He knows is best for them. By this we also know that God is good. Only a good God would come for us and fight for us the way God does.
So, how do we respond?
"You need only be still" (Ex. 14:14b).
God calls us to be still. It is a beautiful and courageous act because it takes us out of relying on our own strength and leads us into embracing and relying on His strength. Ps. 46:10 commands, "be still and know that I am God”. Again, we see this call to stillness, but we also see a call to know who He is; to know His character and trust in the truth of who He is. Submission & stillness can be scary. But it gets much easier to do so when we lean into His character.
Sister, the Father’s good will not always look like our good, and that’s okay. When we don’t understand why things are playing out the way they are, there is a special invitation at hand for us to lean in & trust in who He is and to rejoice in His goodness despite what our eyes are unable to see. May we embrace the call to be still and grow in our trust of our marvelous & faithful Father as we do just that.
