Exodus 14, Luke 11

Friday, February 22, 2008 - Brandon Hatmaker

"Being still doesn't take action, it takes effort."

(Exodus 14)

“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 to be still." Vs. 13-14

Being still requires no action. If they remain still, anything that is to happen on behalf of Israel, will have to come from God. Isn’t that awesome. God really does deliver. God really does rescue. God really does fulfill his promises. God really is great.

There are days we are to remain still. There are days we are called to action. But before we move, we should observe a moment of stillness. We should always pause for a moment and listen to the Spirit. In that settling, we can search our hearts and check our motives. In that silence we can hear if what we intuitively seek to do, is what the Father wants us to do. Who knows, in that moment, maybe God will say, “Hey, I got this one. You remain still.”

Remaining still does not take action, but it does take effort. I remember as a child playing “hide-and-go-seek” running around while my friend counted down. There was an amazing moment of adrenaline when they started counting. Everyone scattered for the nearest and best hiding spot. You realize quickly how hard it is to go from a full sprint to silence and stillness in a split second. You stand there trying desperately not to breath so hard (Because it obviously makes a ton of noise). Your heart is pounding in your chest. You can hear it in your ears. It literally takes effort to be still and not be found.

The same is true in our faith. Most of us go at an incredible pace. Most of us do something or decide to do something THEN ask God to bless it. “Ready, shoot, aim!” Sound familiar? It takes a deliberate effort to be still. We don’t do it naturally.

I wonder how our faith would change if we always took time to be still before we responded to anything. No I don’t. I think we all know what would happen.

It’s interesting to me as well that when it was time to move, after the sea was parted, Moses didn’t have to tell the Israelites it was time to go. They just went. They knew it. Sometimes we sit paralyzed and wonder if it’s time to act. If we take time to be still before God, I believe with all my heart, that we will know when the stillness should end.

(Luke 11)

"Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.”

The last time I read this scripture was during a communion service. In that moment, God made something abundantly clear to me. As Christ followers, we are to be a forgiving people, regardless… well… just regardless. This prayer does not say that forgiveness should come once there are sincere apologies or even for someone to understand your position and see things your way. It simply tells us to forgive. Why? We forgive because God forgave us. We forgive because the Kingdom of God is bigger than any of us. That’s not a joke. That’s not a “word picture”. That’s not a “Feel good statement” that excuses our responsibilities. It’s truth.

This forgiveness should be in our hearts. It should be in our soul. So many times we offer verbal forgiveness without sincerity. True forgiveness happens in the deepest places of our hearts. For many of us, it may even have more to do with our relationship with the Father, than it does the other person.

At times, this can be extremely hard, and is definitely a process. But God already knows that. He’s there for us to find comfort and peace as we seek to grow in the understanding of forgiveness. He wants us to grow in our understanding.