The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.
Exodus 14:14 NIV
You’ve probably seen this verse on a coffee mug or an Instagram post, or perhaps on a home decor sign. It’s a great thought, and I certainly believe God fights for us. The problem is if you look at this verse in its context, you’ll quickly realize that the being still part was not what was being required at that moment.
Exodus 14 recounts the story of the Israelites as they approached the Red Sea after Pharaoh had finally set them free. They were camped out near the Red Sea when they saw Pharaoh’s army coming after them. Pharaoh had changed his mind about letting them go. The Israelites were terrified and began questioning Moses as to why he had brought them into the desert to die. That’s when Moses tells them the Lord will fight for them, they need to just be still.
What comes after Moses’ words may surprise you, especially if you’ve heard this verse used in a sermon teaching you to be still while God fights for you.
Immediately after Moses tells the Israelites to be still, this is what God says to him:
Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.
Exodus 14:15-16 NIV
You probably know the rest of the story. The sea opened up, and the Israelites were able to walk across to the other side. Pharaoh’s army went after them, but just after the Israelites had all made it across, God released the waters, drowning all of Pharaoh’s army. God delivered the Israelites, but it was not by them standing still. They had to move forward in faith believing God would hold the waters back for them long enough to safely cross the sea.
Moses certainly had faith to see God do a miracle and save them from Pharaoh’s army. God could have destroyed Pharaoh’s army without the Israelites taking a single step. But that’s not how he chose to work in this instance. God still worked a miracle, but it required Moses and the Israelites to take action. Commentator David Guzik says this:
There is a time to pray, and a time to act. It can actually be against God’s will to stop doing adn to only pray in a particular situation. This was a time for action, and Moses could pray along the way.
David Guzik, enduringword.com
Often, we want to see God work in our lives, but we don’t want to do any work or take any steps of faith to see it happen. We want to be able to simply pray (which should always be the first thing we do) and let God give us a miracle. Sometimes we do get a miracle without any action on our part. But more often, the miracle or breakthrough doesn’t come without obedient movement.
Is God asking you to take a step of faith? Is there a breakthrough you’re waiting on that you can do something about if you take action? Don’t sit in your “prayer closet” waiting for God to move. Like David Guzik said, you can “pray along the way.”
Beth says
Thank you for that! Pray and be obedient to what God is calling on us to do. That’s good stuff! I love “pray along the way”, asking God for each step in the plan as we continue to move through it.