13 And Moses said to the people, g“Fear not,stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. Forhthe Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 iThe LORD will fight for you, and you have only jto be silent.”
15 The LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. 16 kLift up your staff, and kstretch out your hand over the sea and divide it that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.
Have you ever tried to put on a brave face, yet you were terrified inside? I have. Many times, I’ve found myself ”shaking in my boots” while trying to move forward in faith. If Moses was here, I think he would say, ”Oh yeah! Been there. Done that!”
After reading the first couple of verses above, Moses appears to be immoveable and a giant in the faith. Don’t yield to fear, he says. Stand strong! God is going to work miracles for you today and you will never see the enemy again. God Himself, is going to fight for you. Don’t utter a word. Just watch and you’ll see! Sounds like a man who has it all together to me. Yay! Go Moses!
Ok, I’m paraphrasing a little bit and Moses seems to be the man with the plan. But, if you look closely, verse 15 reveals to us a totally different side to a man who is very much human… like you and me. While putting on a brave face, Moses was simultaneously CRYING out to the Lord for help. You would too if you were stuck between the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s army. It appears that Moses wasn’t as bold as he made himself out to be. Yet, here’s the clincher! Right smack dab in the middle of what seems to be impending disaster, God is rebuking him. Why are you crying to me? Tell the people to GET MOVING. Imagine this scene. The Egyptians are literally breathing down their necks and the deep waters of the Red Sea swirl before them. (Talk about being between a rock and a hard place!) Yet, all eyes are on Moses. You might say, for the former slaves, everything would rise and fall on whatever Moses did. It seems Moses was trying to be brave as he stood before 2-3 million Israelites. Yet, here’s his secret, and it’s our secret too. This humble man of God was crying his insides out for God to intervene — one more time. Have you ever felt like Moses? As the Beatles’ song goes, ”Isn’t he a bit like you and me?”
Can fear and faith stand side by side? Can we move forward trusting — even though the ground beneath us threatens to crumble? In my next article I’ll share about these two seemingly opposite forces which can indeed work side-by-side.
Rehoboth Ministries 