Worth Repeating - November 1, 2017

Exodus 14: 14 “The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still.” (NIV)

His job is to fight. Our job is to trust.*

“God helps those who help themselves.” Many people believe those words are from the Bible. Others, who know better, still believe that it’s a scriptural principle. And it is – if by “help themselves” they actually mean, “be still.”

The words of this verse were spoken by Moses to a specific audience about a specific event in history. It is not a generic message for all people for all times – but there is a corresponding standard that is woven throughout the Bible: “Wait upon the Lord.” Many passages counsel us to seek God’s will before taking action. I believe that God will make us sure of his will if we wait and trust. As someone has stated: “As long as [the] way is hidden, it is clear that there is no need of action and that He holds Himself accountable for all the results of keeping you exactly where you are.”* In other words, if you don’t know what to do, don’t do anything!

There are, of course, occasions where waiting is not an option, but for most of our concerns, the urgency is self-generated. No matter how badly we might want the issue to be settled immediately, most things can wait. Most things should wait. Fighting our own battles when God has promised to fight them for us seldom leads to victory.

Living a life of faith often requires us to leave things alone. . . . Often there is nothing as godly as inactivity on our part.*