What does it mean to "be still?"
I have always had a little bit of curiosity about this verse. I read it again this morning while going through my reading of Exodus 14 with the Bible Recap. Its part of what Moses says to the Hebrew people over the sound of the waves of the Red Sea when they realize they’re being chased down and penned in by a super angry Pharaoh and his army.
This verse is one of those verses that gets splashed across tote bags, coffee mugs, and the like. What’s always been so curious to me is this: what does it mean to be still exactly? Does it mean be still and do nothing? Does it mean to keep calm? Especially when you’re in crisis, like the original recipients of this word were, it can feel a bit hard to stomach.
And yet, as I was reading this morning, I noticed two things: 1) The other part of this passage in verse 13 says “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today.” Have you ever seen a child caught up in a nightmare? Its often instinctual for a parent or caretaker to say “don’t be afraid, I’m right here.” It doesn’t make their fear go away, but it speaks to the fact that we know they’re afraid, and that we’re there with them in it. I realized as Moses said these things to the increasingly apprehensive throng of Hebrews, he was mostly trying to get them to keep from running away. Its a moment of : hang on, don’t run, I know you’re afraid, stand firm, be still, and then the kicker : you WILL see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today.
2) The next verse is God’s response to the situation, which kind of cracks me up. “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.” And then He proceeds to tell Moses how to part the sea so they can walk on dry land.
So here we are: Moses is all, hang tight, don’t run away, be still! And The Lord is like “LET’S GO.” And you know what, friends? I think that’s the crux of it: Even though you’re afraid, stand firm in what you know to be true (the Lord will deliver, act, fight, but most of all LEAD) and then go when He says go. No matter when he says it or where He says to go.
As my friend says, “let’s fight forward” following the Lord all the way.