Keys to Deliverance

     In the Bible, the Book of Exodus lays out the story of Moses leading the Israelites out of 430 years of bondage in Egypt. The road to deliverance was fraught with plagues and death for the Egyptians and fear and doubt for the Israelites. Moses, himself, was not confident in the LORD's appointment and made a number of excuses as to why he was not the right guy for the job. 

    Finally, in Exodus 14, the Pharaoh has let the Israelites go and they are encamped by the Red Sea. Then the twist, Pharaoh again changes his mind about letting the people go. So he sends an enormous army of horses and chariots after the Israelites and pursues them to the shore of the Red Sea. The Israelites, as would most of us, freak out! They question Moses (which means they question God) and basically prepare to die at the hands of Pharaoh's troops. 

    Moses tells the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still" (Exodus 14:13-14). The terms, "stand firm," and "be still" have always stuck out to me in the Bible. Because essentially they are reminders that "the battle is God's" (2 Chronicles 20:15). My only job is to "stand firm" and "be still," often easier said than done. 

    God gives a similar reminder to King Jehoshaphat, and all who lived in Judah and Jerusalem, in 2 Chronicles 20:17-23, "You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you." That battle was not typical of any warfare of the day either, "Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness...saying: 'Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever.' As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men...who were invading Judah, and they were defeated."

    The keys to deliverance in these situations seemed to be: do not be afraid; stand firm; the LORD will fight for you; be still; and sing praise to the LORD. I would suggest that these same keys would help us today when we battle fear, doubt, and other mental or physical warfare. God created us and knows we do not have what it takes to battle the world and He doesn't expect us to, but none the less we do it anyway, with less than victorious results. Trust and obey, deliverance is on the way!

Psalm 46:10 (NIV), He says, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."