Stop and Be Still
Wednesday’s Verse:
From Exodus 14:14 ESV
“The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
Today we conclude our seven part sereis, “The Greatest Mystery: Uncovering Forgiveness.” We take a moment to look at restraint and peace through the finality of God’s promise.
The Israelites had reached a standstill. There was sea in front of them and Pharaoh’s army behind. Fear was setting in. Desperation took over. They had to do something.
Except God spoke one command through Moses that went against every urge: cease from anxiety.
This is the posture of faith when waiting on God. It is not hesitating out of cowardice. When waiting on God in our lives, we want to run the show. Fix it. Fight back. Make them understand. Hold the defeat at all costs. But God’s Word breaks through our panic and demands we be still. Not because we will fix it, but because He already has.
For Lutherans, pondering the mystery of forgiveness is a picture of the Gospel. We do not work to be forgiven or saved, but we rest in Christ’s finished work. He has swung the bat for us all on the cross. Jesus’ cry of victory, “It is finished,” echoes over our frantic swinging at invisible ghosts as we try to secure our own safety.
To be still is to lay down our bats in faith. To believe that God’s Word does not need our interference. To rest in the promise that He has secured the victory already. Forgiveness and salvation are ours.
From that knowledge comes peace. A peace that does not depend on the absence of danger, but on the certainty that God has spoken and His Word will not fail. The sea will part. Pharaoh will not have the victory. And you do not need to scramble and fight because Jesus has already secured your Good Friday.
Whatever is pressing in on you today. Stop and be still.
God has fought for you and still fights for you.
✝️ A Prayer for Today:
Lord, teach me to wait on You. When anxiety whispers in my ear that I need to move, show me how to be still. Remind me when I try to control outcomes that Your hands are bigger than mine. Fill me with peace that only Your Word can bring, and let my feet remain still until You move. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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