Be Still or Move?

I have spent a lot of time asking God if I am to move or stand still. I even put it out there and asked people if you do not know what to do, do you just stand still?

In this quest of mine, I have had many revelations through others and directly from the man upstairs. I think it is important to discern situations so as to know and hear whether you are to stand still [or stand firm] or to move from that point and/or situation in your life.

In Exodus, remember the story of the Israelites? The Lord led them – He went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. They encamped by the sea and when they saw the Egyptians approaching, the bible says they were terrified. They were in fear and asked Moses why he had led them to the desert to die – they felt it would be far better to have stayed and served the Egyptians. Where was the faith, the belief in their ONE TRUE GOD? Moses answered them as we see in the following verse:

Moses answered 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 be still.” - Exodus 14:13-14

Of course, the Lord then spoke to Moses,

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.”
- Exodus 14:15

Well, herein lies my “Aha!” moment. The answer is not one or the other but both stand still and move. No. I have not gone crazy and spoken out of both sides of my mouth. The answer is to stand still UNTIL God tells you to move.

The Lord then tells Moses to raise his staff and part the seas for the Israelites to cross,

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. -Exodus 14:21-22

Did Moses hesitate? Did he question if, in fact, this was God speaking to him? No. He moved by God’s direction and brought his people to safety. As they walked, I can only imagine what was going through their minds. Excitement? For sure. Fear? Most likely. Shame for not believing God was capable of delivering them from the advancing armies? I would think so. Not unlike times in our own lives when we doubt while in the midst of the advancements of the enemy or results of our bad choices. Coming out of it, we may feel like those Israelites on the walk between divided waters.

The waiting times in our life are opportunities to believe or not believe what God’s word says. It is sometimes laboring and burdensome but, we must come to the realization that God’s plans are perfect and we often can mess it up when we stray to the beaten path rather than taking the narrow road. Paraphrasing several books/verses, the bible tells us many things. Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified. Everything is beautiful in time. Do not worry about what you will eat or what you will wear. He cares for even the sparrow. So many words God has given us to remind us that He IS God, now and always. So many of His words we need to hide in our hearts and meditate on night and day. God will never ‘NOT’ give us a way out of a situation or work it in such a way that we grow and it glorifies and honors Him.

When advancements/storms hit, how will we prove faithful? Will we be tossed to and fro or will we rely on God to part the sea and lead us to dry, high ground despite the walls of water on either side of us?