Stand still...

"Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord..." (Ephesians 14:13)
          The Israelites had finally been released from the Egyptians and were on their way to receive the promise that God had for them. Unfortunately, on the way, they met not one but two problems.  As they marched along they were met by a vast body of water, the Red Sea, which prevented them from getting to the other side. They couldn't turn around because they had just found out that their enemies the Egyptians had changed their minds and were now pursuing after them to recapture them. There was no way out! How many times on our way to receive what God has promised us we meet overbearing challenges. Fear steps in and threatens to cripple us. Like the Israelites we don't know which way to turn. We can't move forward  towards the promise and we can't go back because then we would be moving away from what God has for us.       
          It is interesting that God never told the Israelites to turn around and fight their enemies. He had the power to help them fight and win the battle but that was not the solution. He wanted them to stand still while in front of them He was making a way of escape ... through the Red Sea. Sometimes we have to keep looking ahead to our victory instead of keep looking back and fighting the enemies of our past. God has already determined how He is going to deliver us. We may not be able to see it but if we just stand still, keep looking forward, trust Him and put our hope in Him we will make it victoriously through.    
          Additionally, sometimes the only one who needs to move is God NOT us. We always like to "do". The hardest thing is for us to stand still. We feel like we need to be doing something. That's what we've been taught - God helps those who help themselves. This is what we know. But what if sometimes all we have to do is pray, praise and trust. Prayer usually seems insufficient. We don't feel like we're doing anything. But what if prayer is the most powerful thing we can do? What if we pray using the power God has given us to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy? (Luke 10:19) What if the battle is won on our knees? It's a perspective we don't like to consider. Just like the Israelites facing the Red Sea in front while their enemies were behind they had a powerful weapon - God.
​          If it is God's desire to prosper and not harm you to give you hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11), then your victory is sure. God already knows it but you need to know it. A challenge facing you in front and enemies right on your tail behind, you feel boxed in, surrounded, but those are the kinds of unfair situations that God shows up most powerfully in - when you are surrounded by adversity with no way out. It is then that God shows up and shows Himself BIG!!!

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