Who Stands Up For You?

We all have had times in our lives when we needed someone to stand up for us, to help us fight our battles, or maybe even fight them for us. It could have been your older brother or sister who was a senior in high school when you were a freshman and defended you against the bullies that walked the halls of your school. How about the best athlete in the neighborhood who always picked you to be on his baseball team when everyone else overlooked you. Maybe it was a teacher, a coach, a parent, or even an organization. Regardless of who it was, there came a day when that person was no longer able to stand up for you. Your older sibling went off to college. That neighbor moved away.

Life’s battles never end. We all need other people to help us through life, and that is especially true when we face difficult situations. Maybe these days your battles are not with people, but rather with what life has thrown your way. As much help as people are to us, our ultimate source of help comes only from God. Other people can be a great source of help to us, and often are, but in the end, we are called to put our trust and faith in God and God alone. He always fights for us.

A story in the Old Testament very beautifully paints this picture of God fighting for us. In Exodus 14, the Israelites were running away from Pharaoh and the Egyptians who wanted to kill them. The Israelites were trapped. In front of them was the Red Sea, on both sides were mountains, and chasing them was an angry mob. The Israelites were backed into a corner, they had no place to turn, and no one to stand up to fight for them. They complained to their leader Moses and even lamented to him that it would have been better for them to stay slaves to the Egyptians than to die in the desert.

We pick up the story in Exodus 14:13 – “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.’”

That announcement must have been very comforting news to the Israelites, but likely they still wondered how anything good could come of the situation. To their way of thinking, time was running out. Options were limited. Who was going to fight for them?

Sometimes God simply calls us to rest, to wait on Him. In fear, the Israelites might have retreated, running right back into the arms of danger. Despair could have caused them to surrender. If they had been impatient, they likely would have acted impulsively, possibly causing them to enter the water before it was divided. Yet here we see God simply telling them stand firm, be silent, hold their peace, until He revealed His plan, that good and perfect plan. Have you ever been in that uncomfortable spot?    

You know the rest of the story … the Red Sea parted so the Israelites could cross it safely (14:21-22, 29), and but with the Egyptians in hot pursuit, the Lord then caused the waters to return, flooding over them and killing them all (23-28).

Maybe today, you face a battle that you are trying to fight alone, and with every passing day you feel closer to surrendering. In v.14, Moses told the Israelites – “The LORD will fight for you, and you need only to be silent [hold your peace].” I believe those words to be true today as well.

So, right now, give your battles to God, trust in Him, stand confident, and let Him fight along you and for you! He is your defender. He always stands up for you!

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