The Israelites blasted and blamed Moses, declaring, “It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” Moses answered the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. You’ll never see the Egyptians again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Ex. 14:12-14
Heavenly Father, fear, uncertainty, and vulnerability are crafty thieves, bent of robbing us of peace, trust, and hope. We don’t judge the angry Israelites in this story, for we know what it feels like to be out of wait, reserves, and faith. You opened the Red Sea for them, and you opened Jesus’ tomb for us. Yet at times we still struggle to trust you.
They wanted to return to the known slavery of Egypt rather than trust you in the unknown territory of the wilderness. What does this look like for us? Some of us are in stories of unresolved conflicts that are paying high-yield compound interest. The demand for relief grows louder as the hope of redemption grows weaker. Any kind of relief looks—not only better, but essential.
Some of us are facing the “map-less” hill country of aging. We’re more certain of heaven than what’s next in life. So we medicate with slavery to busyness and drivenness. Others of us are beginning unplanned-for transitions, some are well into stories of chronic suffering, still others are in the desert of waiting for kids and spouses to come to their senses and come home.
Abba, we are grateful your grace is for sinners—for the weak, helpless, and powerless. We qualify! So grant us big, fresh grace to “be still and know you are God”—that we are your beloved children and you are our ever-faithful Father. And help us help each other, for sometimes we have a supply of hope and encouragement for others than we don’t have for ourselves. So Very Amen.