Mensa Otabil - Do Not Be Afraid
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And so we go to Exodus 14:13 and 14. Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace."
After Pharaoh had delivered Israel or asked them to leave the land, he had a change of mind, which normally happens. So he decides to go after the children of Israel. Now Israel is encamped in front of the Red Sea. There is no way through the sea on the sides; there's nowhere to run. Behind them is the Egyptian army surrounding them, and on the sides, there is no way out. The only way is to go through the sea, and so the people, as they have been doing for a long time, start murmuring, and Moses, disturbed, hears God speak to him to go forward. So he speaks these words to the children of Israel. These words, I believe, are the words God wants to also speak to us today.
The first thing is, "Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid." A lot has happened this year, and many times for us, it may not be Pharaoh and the armies of Egypt pursuing us; they seem to be taking us into the coming year. And the word I have for you is the same word Moses spoke: "Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid."
The second thing he said to them was, "Stand still." "Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord." Why are they supposed to stand still? I mean, it's not logical; if somebody's pursuing you from behind, you don't stand still; you run. But he says, "Stand still," because if you trust in God, you don't panic. If you trust in God, you don't run helter-skelter. If you trust in God, you don't behave as if you have no hope and there is no life for you. Don't just panic, and don't keep running. Don't just palpitate; stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. God wants you to trust Him. God wants to take you through into the coming year. God wants to bless you, and if He has kept you now, He will keep you then. Stand still, stop running around, don't panic, don't move; just stay in the Lord, trust in the Lord.
Then he says the third thing: "The Lord will fight for you." That's what Moses said to the people: "Don't be afraid; God is going to fight for you." In other words, God has got this. You know, any time we want to enter a brand new year, we feel that we have to fight; we have to deal with all kinds of things. Yes, it's 365 days we know nothing about, but God knows everything about those days. He's gone ahead of us, and He says, "I will fight for you," so trust Him to lead you and to guide you into the coming year.
Let us pray. Say with me: "Heavenly Father, I know You are fighting for me. I will stand still and confident to see Your salvation. In Jesus' name, Amen and Amen."