Be Still My Soul

And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. 14The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” 15And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. 16But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. 17And I indeed will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen. 18Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.” Exodus 14:13-18
Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Have you ever found yourself in a place where you just needed to be reminded of God’s truth that He has always been in control, watches every step we take, delivers us from all harm and leads us into the paths of righteousness. I was looking at the old hymn, “Be Still, My Soul” and was reminded that I need to be quieted that I may listen to the still small voice of God. The first line of the song goes like this: “Be still, my soul! The Lord is on thy side; Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain. Leave to thy God to order and provide; In every change He faithfully will remain. Be still, my soul! Thy best, thy heavenly Friend thro’ thorny ways leads to a joyful end.”

Now let’s look briefly at the above passage of scripture. Can you imagine what the people of Israel must have felt like after passing through the blood of Passover and being delivered from Egypt? They were probably in awe of God’s power revealed in the killing of the firstborn son, amazed at the plunder that they made of Egypt, and excited that they were finally free from the bondage of Egyptian slavery. However, this did not last long. Whenever another difficult task came up, doubt filled their hearts and they were ready to turn on Moses and return to the place they had despised. Have you ever felt like you have been led to a place where you could handle the circumstances? Everything was out of control and you didn’t have the power to do anything.

Hopefully, you can find yourself in this situation today, because God is ready to reveal His power. He wants to quiet your complaining and make you realize that He is reigning as Sovereign King. In America, it is easy to try to wiggle ourselves out of hard situations except for the problems of sickness and death. These are the only two things that tend to sober our minds and help us look up. If there is a financial problem, we can always go to the bank or max out a credit card to buy time. If there is a problem in your marriage, Satan will paint a pretty picture of greener pastures that are only a mirage of deceit and rips everything apart. This is happening in Christian homes as much as in unbeliever’s homes. If a church has a problem, there are enough of them around to run down the street to avoid the situation and never have to deal with the real issues. Do you think that this will build spiritual maturity and instill faith?

The people of Israel found themselves before a Red Sea and being chased by their enemies. It wasn’t a three feet deep marsh that they were facing. It would have been a greater miracle for God to drown the Egyptians in three foot of water than to split the Red Sea. Theses people needed a miracle. They needed someone who had power to save. They needed the One who had moved in power before the Pharaoh with the mighty miracles. There was only One to turn to. Moses told them five things. Do not be afraid, because doubt destroys faith every time. Secondly, he said, “stand still”. Don’t try to wiggle your way out of situations that God has placed you in. Look to Him to fight your battles and bring deliverance. Third, He said to see the salvation of the Lord. How can you know a God who you have never seen work? God desires that you experience His power. You must be a witness in order to be a witness. Fourthly, He said to hold your peace. Sometimes, we need to quit talking and quiet our soul. In the noise of this world, we can easily spend years never hearing from God, because our spiritual ears become dull of hearing. The last thing he told them was to go forward. Their faith was activated when they took the first step and crossed the Red Sea on dry ground. They didn’t wade through water or walk through mud puddles. God opened the door, and they experienced the peace that surpassed all understanding.

Are you ready to experience God’s power in your life? He constantly wants to show Himself strong that He might get glory in every situation of your life. If you notice in the book of Exodus, only the people of Israel were kept safe from God’s power. They had passed through the blood of which is a picture of the cross and experienced God’s deliverance through the Red Sea of which is a shadow of the Resurrection. Can you say like Paul, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead” (Philippians 3:10-11). Be still, my soul! The hour is hastening on, when we shall be forever with the Lord, when disappointment, grief and fear are gone, sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored. Be still my soul! When change and tears are past, all safe and blessed we shall meet at last.