Let Go And Let God

Let Go and Let God

Bible Blast: Read Exodus 14:10-14

The LORD himself will fight for you. Just stay calm. Exodus 14:14

I’m a fan of the Disney movie Finding Nemo.

After Marlin and Dory find Nemo, they’re swimming around in a big school of gray fish when suddenly the fish start panicking. A fishing net has gathered around them and is getting ready to pull them up out of the water onto a fishing barge. All the gray fish totally freak out and just start yelling while they swim in all different directions. Nemo and Marlin are small enough to get through the net, but Dory’s caught.

Nemo gets an idea and says, “Dad! I know what to do! We need to tell all the fish to swim down!” Then, he swims into the net with all the other fish. Marlin, Nemo, and Dory go around to the fish yelling, “Swim down! We all need to swim down together!”

The gray fish catch on and start working together, swimming in the opposite direction of the boat. The strength of their teamwork pulls against the barge; eventually, the line breaks, the net drops into the water, and the fish are all free!

Panic can be a natural reaction to situations that get beyond our control. But panic doesn’t produce anything good. Panic is not self-control or trust. It’s letting fear and worry control you, and that’s not how God wants you to live.

The Israelites were in a state of total panic when they saw the Egyptians coming after them. All Moses could do was remind them that God was in control and that he would fight for them. They just needed to chill out in a major way and let God protect them.

Even if the Israelites could have arranged themselves to fight against the Egyptians, they never would have won. The Egyptians had chariots, weapons, and soldiers. The Israelites had just been released from years of slavery and only had their few belongings. God was their only defense.

Panic may feel like the natural thing to do sometimes, but it won’t be effective. God may need you to do the opposite of what feels right, just like the gray fish and the Israelites.

Girl Gab: Have you ever been in a situation that caused you to panic? Talk about how doing that helped or didn’t help the situation. Ask God for the ability to stay calm and let him fight for you during panicky times.