Exodus 14:13 And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.
Last week we looked at this scripture and discussed how the Lord said, “do not fear and to be still.” I think we would agree those two things in themselves are pretty challenging. Today I want us to look at the rest of the scripture. Moses is encouraging the people to open up their eyes. He says, “and see the salvation of the Lord…..” In order to see something, we have to have our eyes open. Sometimes when we are in a tight spot, we choose to keep our eyes closed until the outcome is finished. Can’t you just see Moses encouraging them to look around and see how they were outnumbered? Why on earth would anyone want to be encouraged to look at his or her crisis situation? He wanted them to engrain this feeling on their heart because God was about to show up in a mighty way. Moses finishes the sentence by saying, “you will never see them again.” God was about to take a bad situation and turn it into a victory for the Israelites.
Sometimes we just want to skip to the great outcome and forget the stuff in the middle. We have a friend whose daughter cannot watch Disney movies. They are too hard for her to handle. She just can’t handle the stuff in the middle: the sad part, the situation, the crisis, so to speak. The middle part, however, is what makes the ending so great. God is saying to open your eyes all the way through, even in the middle when it’s hard, because I am sustaining you even now! God doesn’t want them to miss the staff being raised. He doesn’t want them to fail to see the waters start to spin and push back. He wants them to etch into their minds the images of the water rolling back and their feet stepping on dry ground. Sometimes when we are waiting in the middle, we have to be thankful for how the Lord is providing in the here and now. Although I’m sure the Israelites were scared to be between two great bodies of water, they knew God was creating a miracle for them. No matter where you are in your life right now, He is calling you to open your eyes and see Him; see what He is doing in and around your life.
Finally Moses says, “which He (the Lord) will work for you today.” Oh, if we could just grasp these few words. God is not asking for their help. He is not asking them to try to figure it out for themselves or to do it their own way. He is simply saying, “Be Strong- Be Still- Be Watchful, and watch what I can do!” We try to get all involved in God’s business, but often for the wrong reasons. You see, we want to let God know what we think would be best, or how we would like the situation to go. We want to offer our opinions to the Creator of the universe, as if to say we know best. Recently in my quiet time I read the words of Henry Blackaby that said this: “We do not want to give attention to the development of our character; we just want the blessings and the assignments. If Moses had tried to deliver the children of Israel through a human approach, thousands of countrymen would have been slain in battle. Moses tried to deliver one Israelite, and that cost him 40 years of exile in Midian working as a shepherd and reorienting his life to God-centered living. But when God did it his way, no Israelites were lost, and the Egyptians sent them away with gold, silver, and clothes.”
In order to do things God’s way, we have to truly know God. In order to truly know God we have to spend time with Him intimately each day. Are we allowing God His way in our life, or are we on our own with our eyes closed, hoping we make it through?
Be Strong- Be Still- Be Watchful- Be Silent
If you want a more detailed study, this devotion was based off of Priscilla’s Shirer’s lesson Move On.