The Waiting Walk

Exodus 14:15 And the LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. NKJV

Exodus 14:13 & 14* is a favorite passage of mine, and of many others. We could easily write many posts and articles about these verses (and indeed, you can find many already written out there).

“Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today.” This idea of waiting isn’t always my favorite, but the promise to simply BE and let the Lord do the fighting – how is that not amazing!?!? What a great assurance that seriously, everything will be fine. GOD will fight for us! It is emphasized again in verse 14: “The Lord Himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” Just stay calm… Easier said than done, but again, what a promise!!!

And that’s where I’ve always stopped. I simply ask for God’s help, trust Him, stop trying to run the world or even my own show, and watch Him show up in majesty and power and save me, save the day, save the world. Done. Wow!

But the other day, I kept reading. Verse 15 has it’s own special power! “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving!’”

Ha, did you catch that? Anyone else confused here?

Verses 14 and 15 assure us that the battle is God’s. We just have to stand still and watch the Lord work. God will fight, we just stay calm. And then boom – move on out already!!! Why are you just standing there?

I guess this simultaneous concept of waiting and walking is found in more than one place in the Bible! Stand still, but keep moving!

Now notice that the “stand still” was in relationship to the Egyptian army and the impending battle. That was not for them to worry about – God would cover that. But standing still and waiting for God to fight our battles does not equate to being lazy and never doing anything again! No! We still have things to do, places to go, faith to act on. And so God does not ask His people to go hunt down battle gear, sharpen swords, and find a horse to ride on into battle. No, that’s His department. But He does ask them to move forward on the path that he has outlined for them from the beginning. He has promised them Canaan, and right now a sea stands in their way. But don’t wait for that, and don’t worry about the potential battle at their rear – move forward!

And so He asks the same of us. Wait on Him for the armies that threaten to overwhelm us. But while we wait on Him for our rescue, we should go forward. Wherever He has told us that we should go, in whatever direction He has pointed us, we need to get moving.

While waiting for Him to act, we continue walking where He leads.

What a precious picture of this dichotomy of the waiting walk that we are asked to embark on each day. And you should definitely keep reading – the story ends well for those who are following God!

A “waiting walk” may seem confusing at times, but it will be the most amazing journey you’ll ever experience!

Try it!

*NLT is used in this post.