September 9, 2020

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

Exodus 14:14 is one of those verses that is really easy to take out of context. It’s easy to pull out those few words and come up with an inspirational thought about God taking care of all our troubles. So, let’s take a moment and look at the context. In Exodus chapter 14 God has rescued the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and led them into the wilderness. He then tells them to turn around and camp not far from the place they just left. The people complain, wondering if God just brought them out into the wilderness so that the Egyptians could simply kill them there. But what God is doing throughout this story is working through the Israelite nation in order to show his sovereignty over the most powerful kingdom of the time – Egypt.

God is not fighting for them in order to win their battles or accomplish their will. It is quite the opposite; God is fighting the battle for them because he is working through them to accomplish his own will. If you think you can dictate your will to God and have him fight all your battles for you, you will be very disappointed. However, when your life is submitted to God’s will and your only desire is for him to work through you in order to show his sovereignty, power, righteousness, love, and salvation, you need only be still; he will do the fighting.

Almighty God, we submit our lives to You. Make use of our lives in order to build Your Kingdom. Let us be still, attentive, and open vessels. We are Your people; You are our champion.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Shane Cannon