‘Be Still’ – Profound and Purposeful Action

Exodus 14:14 “The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still.”

What a powerful and comforting verse. I have been coming back to this verse and soaking this in for the last few days. This week I was not feeling very fighting fit in a spiritual and emotional sense and I just needed to be reminded that God is with me and for me every single day.

I have read and re-read this verse and allowed it to minister to me. There is nothing more powerful and comforting than the word of God to minister to your weary soul.

These words were said by Moses to the Israelites when he was leading them out of Egypt. They reach a point stuck between the Red Sea ahead and Egyptians in pursuit of them. The Israelites were fearful, desperate and wanted to give up. Moses said these words, which were overflowing with faith when he could have been so easily afraid.

There is such assurance in these words that the Lord will fight for them. There is no doubt in Moses’s mind about that. Such confidence and assurance of the presence and provision of God. When facing a situation that can instil fear, may we have that kind of assurance that God is always there for us. A faithful and forever God.

He fights for us. He goes to battle for you and me. He does it because He loves us and we are His. An assurance of His love and that we belong to Him.

Fights for you – I was reminded of Romans 8:31 where it says “If God is for you, who can be against you.” Whatever we are facing, His presence with us and for us is strength enough to break down that which is trying to break us.

The first half of this verse, those six words assures us of what the Lord will do for us.

The second half of the verse, the next six words tells us what we are to do.

“You need only to be still.”

What do we need – need to be still. Usually in a situation where there is a call to do battle. We can tend to want to do a lot of things. We will tend to fret, complain, be anxious, get impatient and try taking things in our own hands to have control over the situation in some form.

We might not want to Be still but being still is all we need to do.

Be still – what does it mean to be still?

Psalm 46:10 says “Be still and know that I am God.”

In Hebrew to ‘Be still’ means to let go or to surrender. Being still is not giving up, it is to surrender to God. When we sit on a two-wheeler with anyone, the person behind has to hold onto the rider and surrender control of riding to the one in front. The one behind cannot bend left when the rider is trying to turn right, that would only make things difficult.

Do we tend to sit and try and drive from behind with Jesus?

Being still in His presence, shifting all our attention to Him and surrendering allows us to know that He is God. A God who is sovereign (Col 1:16-17) a God on whom we can completely depend on (Isaiah 41:13), a God who is faithful (Psalm 145:13), who works out all things for our good (Romans 8:28), a God whose plans, purposes and ways goes beyond what we can understand (Isaiah 55:9) and a God who does immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).

Let’s release our grip and surrender to HIM.

To ‘Be’ is an ongoing state, it does not say we ‘were’ still. To ‘Be still’ is very much an everyday ongoing process to keep on letting go of our hold and letting God work in His way. To be still does not mean to do nothing. It is to allow ourselves to quit our scrambling for control, hear His voice, take time to grow in our faith and trust and align ourselves with His way and His time.

In Mark 4:39, Jesus quieted the stormy waters by saying “Peace! Be Still!”

The waters obeyed and stopped being restless. Being still in His presence, allows Jesus to quiet the chaos in our minds and focus on Him so that we can experience His peace.

Psalm 37:7 says “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.”

Being still before the Lord helps us to wait on Him to work out that which is best for us in His perfect wisdom and timing.

What can we do while being still before God

• May we abound with praise and worship. When we worship Him, we exalt His name above any situation or circumstance in our life.
• May we spend time reading His word – ground ourselves with His word that serves as the sword of the spirit (Ephesians 6:17), it cuts through any lies the enemy tells us.
• May we overflow with prayer – we may not know how things will turn out but let’s turn to that which we know – He hears our prayers – His ears are attentive to our prayers (1 Peter 3:12).
• May we give thanks – we are to give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18), a posture of gratitude acknowledges that our love is not conditional to receiving only good things from Him. It is the laying of our trust in Him while we are yet to fully see or comprehend his ways.

Be still, my friend, be still. Let the Lord be your shield and your sword. Let Him be your rock and your shelter. Be still and surrender to Him, leave room for God to work, let Him fight for you.  

Be Still before HIM, a simple but yet profound and purposeful action.

God Bless.