Morning By Morning #206

Stand firm and you will see
the deliverance the LORD will bring you today.

Exodus 14:13

From the pen of Charles Spurgeon:

This verse is God’s command to you as a believer when you are in dire straits and extraordinary difficulties. When you cannot retreat or advance and are shut off to your right and to your left, what are you to do? The Master’s word to you is, “Stand firm.” At such times it would be wise for you to listen only to your Master’s word, for some evil advisers will come to you with their suggestions. Despair will whisper, “Lie down and die. Give up!” But God would have you clothe yourself with cheerful courage and, even in the worst of times, to rejoice in His love and faithfulness. Cowardice will say, “Retreat! Go back to the world’s ways. You can’t be a successful Christian. It’s too difficult, so relinquish your principles.” Yet no matter how much Satan may urge you to follow this course, you cannot follow it if you are a child of God.

God’s divine decree urges you to “go from strength to strength” (Ps. 84:7), and so you will, and neither death nor hell itself will be able to turn you from your course. So what if God commands you to “be still” (Ex. 14:14) for a while? It is designed to renew your strength for a greater advance in the near future. Urgency cries out to you, “Do something! Get busy. To ‘be still’ and wait is nothing but sheer laziness.” Your tendency will be to do something yourself at once instead of looking to the Lord. Remember, however, He will do everything when you are in this situation. Presumption will boast, “If the sea is before you, march right into it and expect a miracle!” But Faith never listens to Presumption, Despair, Cowardice, or Urgency; but hears God say, “‘Stand firm’ and as immovable as a rock.”

So “stand firm”—keep the posture of an upright soldier, ready for action and expecting further orders. Cheerfully and patiently await your Commander’s voice, for it will not be long before God will say to you—as distinctly as He spoke to Moses and the people of Israel—“Move on” (Ex. 14:15).

From the pen of Jim Reimann:

One of the most difficult things to do in this busy day and age in which we live is to “be still.” Yet if the people of old needed that encouragement, how much more do we need it today! Actually the words are more than an encouragement—they are a command: “Be still”! The following are two more passages where God commands stillness:

“Commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still” (Ps. 4:4 KJV). And, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10).

At times, we as believers may need Jesus to do for us exactly what He did on the Sea of Galilee: “He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm” (Mark 4:39).

Perhaps we need to be rebuked as well when the “winds” of our busy lives are so much louder than the Lord’s “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12 KJV). Only then will we experience the calmness we so desperately need, enabling us to hear Him.

“The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears” (Isa. 50:5).