It had been a week on an emotional roller coaster. First the people’s hopes were lifted, and then they were dashed. They were trying to follow God, but it didn’t look like they had always dreamed it would. The political machinery of the day looked as if it were going to swallow them once again and relegate them to the bowels of society. They had been there long enough. They knew what that was like and they didn’t want to go back!
And now the Lord had finally freed them. They had put blood on the doorposts—not the typical way of finding relief from oppression, but it had worked. The command came to leave and they instantly obeyed before Pharaoh changed his mind. He always did. It was just a matter of time. So they left Egypt both rejoicing and looking back to see if they were being followed.
And about the time they started relaxing, someone sees a dust cloud on the horizon behind them. Looking ahead at where the giant pillar of cloud was leading, all they could see was water. They were trapped, and they knew the outcome of dealing with Pharaoh’s army. Many of them would die. Most would be re-captured and re-bound into the very slavery they had just escaped. Let’s pick up the story in Exodus chapter 14. Beginning with verse 10.
Ex 14:10-14 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. 11 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? 12 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!” 13 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. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
Some things never change, do they? At the first sign or even sometimes, at the first hint of trouble, we grow terrified. And we start complaining and even believing that the very things we are being rescued from would now be preferable to what we are now facing. Look at vs. 11, 12 again.
Ex 14:11 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? 12 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!”
Why do we do that? Why do we, at the first sign of anything remotely threatening to our security and well-being, start complaining and crying out in fear? To be sure, because we are human. But might it also be that we haven’t developed the ability to be still and trust that God is still in control? Could it be that we feel like we have to rescue ourselves and we don’t see how it’s going to work out? Look, once again at Moses’ command in vs. 13 and 14.
Ex 14:13-14 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. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
And you probably remember the story, don't you. God provided a path through the sea and when Pharaoh and his armies tried to follow them, the walls of water came crashing down on them. The Lord had done their fighting for them. They only had to stand firm and watch the Lord's deliverance.
Either we never knew, or we have already forgotten that the Lord will fight for us, we only need to be still. That’s harder than it sounds. Be still. Ok…and do what? Ponder the problem? Seek solutions? Wring your hands in anxiety? No. Psalm 46:10 says:
Psa. 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
That’s what Moses was trying to get the Israelites to see in the middle of their crisis. They didn’t have much choice, did they? The sea on one side, the army on the other…they had to be still…physically. But not all who are still physically are calm emotionally and spiritually. Have you noticed that? But they have no where else to go. So they wait on the Lord to do something. And He does.
What solved their problem? Did they solve their problem? Did they form a giant think-tank to discuss, deliberate and vote? No. How was their problem solved? They waited on God. They had to be still. Was that all? No. They also had to obey God and walk the direction He led. If they hadn’t done the walking, they would have stayed on the other side of the sea. They had to be still. Then they had to obey. Inhale, exhale. Be still, inhale, obey, exhale. We have to learn to breathe spiritually.
We talk a lot about our need for prayer, about how good prayer is, about how necessary it is to our spiritual walk, yet we seldom seem to take the time to pray. It has been said that prayer is the breath of the soul. If this is so, then perhaps the reason we so often feel anxious or overwhelmed in life is because we are not breathing!
In order to do away with the anxiety and panic in our lives, we must allow our souls to breathe deeply. And one of the primary reasons we are not breathing deeply enough is because we are not still long enough to do so. “Be still”, God says. Being still is the first requisite to breathing well.
When difficulties come; breathe. When it feels like life is going to run you over; breathe. When you feel uncertain or scared or anxious; breathe.
Ellen White, in her book Desire of Ages, page 667, says, “The path of sincerity and integrity is not a path free from obstruction, but in every difficulty we are to see a call to prayer. There is no one living who has any power that he has not received from God, and the source whence it comes is open to the weakest human being. {DA 667.4}
In every difficulty we are to see a call to prayer. A call to breathe. A call to Be still. Why? So we can
gain perspective. So we can live life without having to panic. So we can know that He is God. Being still allows God the chance to work in our lives before we go out and do something stupid in our typical reactionary mode. Being still allows us to realize Who is fighting for us. Being still will allow us to remain at peace. Isaiah tells us that.
Is. 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.
Phil 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Do you want peace in the midst of life’s storms? Learn to breathe. Be still. Seek God. Keep your mind fixed on Him. Allow Him to bring you peace.
Either we never knew, or we have already forgotten that the Lord will fight for us, we only need to be still. That’s harder than it sounds. Be still. Ok…and do what? Ponder the problem? Seek solutions? Wring your hands in anxiety? No. Psalm 46:10 says:
Psa. 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
That’s what Moses was trying to get the Israelites to see in the middle of their crisis. They didn’t have much choice, did they? The sea on one side, the army on the other…they had to be still…physically. But not all who are still physically are calm emotionally and spiritually. Have you noticed that? But they have no where else to go. So they wait on the Lord to do something. And He does.
What solved their problem? Did they solve their problem? Did they form a giant think-tank to discuss, deliberate and vote? No. How was their problem solved? They waited on God. They had to be still. Was that all? No. They also had to obey God and walk the direction He led. If they hadn’t done the walking, they would have stayed on the other side of the sea. They had to be still. Then they had to obey. Inhale, exhale. Be still, inhale, obey, exhale. We have to learn to breathe spiritually.
We talk a lot about our need for prayer, about how good prayer is, about how necessary it is to our spiritual walk, yet we seldom seem to take the time to pray. It has been said that prayer is the breath of the soul. If this is so, then perhaps the reason we so often feel anxious or overwhelmed in life is because we are not breathing!
In order to do away with the anxiety and panic in our lives, we must allow our souls to breathe deeply. And one of the primary reasons we are not breathing deeply enough is because we are not still long enough to do so. “Be still”, God says. Being still is the first requisite to breathing well.
When difficulties come; breathe. When it feels like life is going to run you over; breathe. When you feel uncertain or scared or anxious; breathe.
Ellen White, in her book Desire of Ages, page 667, says, “The path of sincerity and integrity is not a path free from obstruction, but in every difficulty we are to see a call to prayer. There is no one living who has any power that he has not received from God, and the source whence it comes is open to the weakest human being. {DA 667.4}
In every difficulty we are to see a call to prayer. A call to breathe. A call to Be still. Why? So we can
Is. 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.
Phil 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Do you want peace in the midst of life’s storms? Learn to breathe. Be still. Seek God. Keep your mind fixed on Him. Allow Him to bring you peace.
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