As 2011 comes to an end, I’ve decided to revisit some of my top viewed blogs of this year. This post seemed to challenge and encourage people to act in faith. Check it out.
14 “The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” 15 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.”
Exodus 14:14-15
Exodus 14:14-15
Exodus 14:14 is by far one of the most misinterpreted verses in the Bible.
Most of us, including myself, have looked at it as a faith infusing verse of what we should do when we need help or a breakthrough. When we’re looking for God to do something big. Or when we’re waiting to see God bring something into our lives.
Be still. Let the Lord fight the battle for you. Let go and let God.
In short, do nothing.
In short, do nothing.
There’s just one problem with that: verse 15.
In verse 14 Moses tells the people that God will fight for them and to be still. But in verse 15 God comes in and immediately contradicts Moses. He doesn’t tell them to stand still. He tells them to shut up and get moving. Into the sea.
Moses was wrong. In isolation, verse 14 is wrong. Yes, God’s going to fight for them. But it won’t be while they’re standing there and doing nothing. It’s in the parted sea. It’s while they’re moving that God will be fighting.
Sometimes it can be easy to mistake patience for what’s really passivity.
Faith for what could be laziness. Or even faithlessness.
Faith for what could be laziness. Or even faithlessness.
Sometimes it can be easy to think that we should stand still and cry out when God’s actually looking for us to shut up and get moving. Not to do everything on our own, obviously. But to realize that faith isn’t necessarily sitting and waiting for God to do everything on His own for you. God fights while you move.
For example, if you’re unemployed it isn’t faith for you to stay at home and watch the Price is Right while praying during commercial breaks and expecting God to throw a job into your lap. Faith is updating your resume. Getting your butt out the door. And applying for jobs. Let God fight for you in your job search.
You could apply this to pretty much every area of your life. Relationships. Finances. Major life decisions.
Faith isn’t passive. It’s active. If you don’t believe me, go read Hebrews 11. I defy you to find me one verse that says, “By faith, they watched.” It’s always by faith, they moved. By faith, they did.
That’s because faith is knowing who God is and acting accordingly.
And then watching Him act accordingly.
And then watching Him act accordingly.
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