MONDAY MEDITATION: Keeping Still (March 16, 2020)

[Moses said,] “The LORD will fight for you. You just keep still.” – Exodus 14:14

I’m writing this in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. The United States is basically on lockdown. Fear is rattling everybody.

But if you think we have it bad, consider the Hebrews, who’ve just followed Moses out of slavery in Egypt to the banks of the Red Sea. There’s water in front of them and a charging Egyptian army behind them.

What should they do?

Nothing, Moses says.

We’re conditioned to do anything but keep still. Do something, as quickly as possible, to take control of the situation.

But what happens when the enemy is bigger than you, and you don’t see any way out?

“You just keep still,” Moses continues to counsel.

Why?

“The LORD will fight for you.”

In our frantic busyness in the face of life’s pandemics, we’ve forgotten that that simple statement is the backbone of Scripture. God actively participates in human life, and fights against evil in whatever form it takes.

When the powerful oppress the powerless, God passionately gets involved. The Egyptians pursued the Hebrews, and God opened the Red Sea. The Romans nailed Jesus to the cross, and God opened the sealed tomb.

It might be good to remember that in a time when we face uncertainty. When everyone is fearing the worst, dare believe the best. After all our precautions, simply take a deep breath and be still.

Who knows what small voice you’ll hear when the noise dies down? Who knows what new things might be happening, now that you’ve stopped and seen things more clearly?

God knows, and that’s more than enough.

Red Seas part, tombs are opened, and new life will begin.