Be Still

Ex.14:13, ‘ And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation^[b] of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.’ At times, a smooth life seems to face dead ends, red seas, cliffs etc which marks end of road ahead. Such times are dreadful and not desired by anyone anytime. But Bible highlights such occasions a few times in order to tell us that such situations are likely to happen in any life anytime and through these, He has guided us as to how to handle such situations.

Moses lead Israelites out of Egypt and he took the way the Lord had asked him to take. For the pillar of cloud went ahead of them by day and pillar of night during the night. In other words, Moses followed Lord’s instructions and the Israelites followed Moses. We always expect smooth journeys, especially when we are assured of our ways being lead by our Lord. But inspite of being lead by the Lord, the Israelites had a huge and deep Red sea ahead and the Egyptian army pursuing them from behind. They feared greatly and cried out to God.  In Ex. 14:14 and 16, the Lord assures Moses that He would fight for them. He then commanded Moses to lift up his rod and stretch forth his hand over the sea. In Ex.14: 21, Moses did as commanded and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all night. When such instances come in our lives inspite of being lead by the Lord, the Word assures us that God Himself fights for us and removes all obstacles from our ways. When the Lord says ‘be still’, we need to understand that its impossible to be still unless we realise that even such dead end situations are in His knowledge and with His purpose. By being still, we are able to have His peace that is beyond our understanding. This is essential to hear His voice and to do certain things as commanded even in the midst of such chaos. When the Lord said that He would fight for the Israelites, He also intended to use Moses as His arm. And for Moses to hear His voice and to do accordingly, being still was absolutely necessary. It was Moses who stretched out his hand over the sea, but it was the Lord who caused the sea to go back.

 2 Chron.20: 1, ‘ And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s..’ A great multitude came against King Jehoshaphat, who feared greatly. He sought the Lord’s face and the Lord assured him that He would fight the battle for him. In 2 Chron.20:17, the Lord commanded Jehoshaphat to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. Later in v 21 and 22, we see that  the king appointed singers who went ahead of the army into the battle field and they sang praises to the Lord. And as they sang praises to the Lord, the Lord sent ambushments against the children of Ammonites and Moab and King Jehoshaphat had victory. In fact the Lord had not asked the king to appoint singers to praise the name of the Lord in the battle field. The king had done this for he might have been lead to do this by the Spirit of the Lord. When we are still and calm, realizing that the Lord holds our right hand at all times, God leads us to do certain things which turns out to be powerful weapons of the Lord & ultimately glorifies His name. Thus we are able to witness His unique and great purposes.  Only a Spirit lead person can feel like worshipping the Lord in a true battle field. Only a Spirit lead Paul and Barnabbas could worship the Lord even inside the prison. Apostle John was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day in the island of Patmos, a place infested with wild animals. True worship is submitting to Him and this enables His presence to take control of ourselves and our situations.

 Mk.4:37 – 39, ‘And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. ³⁸ But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” ³⁹ Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace,^[g] be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.’ In another instance, the disciples of Jesus faced storms while travelling by a boat and Jesus was not with them physically. But in this instance, Jesus was very much there with them in the same boat, though sleeping. Yet fear gripped the disciples when the great windstorm seemed to fill the boat with water. Fear clouds our sight to the extent we doubt and question His love and care for us. Jesus asked them “Why are you so fearful ? How is it that you have no faith ?” When fear grips one’s heart, faith exits from that heart. Focus on facts causes fear while faith gives grace to overcome the harshness of facts.

Acts 27:21-25, ‘ But after long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss. ²² And now I urge you to take ^[f]heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. ²³ For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, ²⁴ saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ ²⁵ Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me.’ Apostle Paul on the other hand faced a similar situation. The ship in which he was travelling was caught up in a strong storm and was extremely tempest tossed. The passengers were gripped with fear and refused to eat. But Paul’s great confidence that he belonged completely to Jesus and that he served Him alone made him stand strong. He trusted His words and hence, experienced a peace that passes every understanding. This enabled him to use this opportunity to present the Lords power and glory in midst of all. At times, when we face the storms of life with great calmness, they turn out to be great pulpits to preach Christ through our lives.

Is.26:3-4, ‘You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. ⁴ Trust in the Lord forever, For in Yah, the Lord, is ^[b]everlasting strength.’  Peace is perfect when our mind stays in Him always, even when the situations are unfavorable. Its absolutely essential to experience this peace. For this gives us the grace to hear His still small voice in the midst of fiercest storms of life. This enables us to be His arm by doing the things He instructs us to do. It empowers us to be lead to worship Him with all our heart in the toughest situations. Calmness of heart enables us to experience His love and care in the midst of storms of life. And the Lord uses the storms allowed by Him to be transformed to become pulpits to preach Christ. May His peace that passes every understanding rule our hearts.

God bless us all.