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.
It is easy to yield under the pressure of circumstances. It is much easier in the short run to just give in to the pressure, to go with the flow. But we are not on a short journey. We are in a lifelong, eternal journey. The Israelites see the Egyptians following them and they become afraid. I would be too if I saw the chariots racing my direction. As children many of us learned to run away from difficulty. There was someone who rescued us from the negative consequences of our foolishness. So we never learned the valuable lessons that pain and difficulty can teach us. The Israelites are about to be delivered from Egypt. They have been promised deliverance by the One who protected them from the final plagues. But in the middle of their leaving they have second thoughts. They see their former masters, the ones that made life very difficult for them, and they suddenly get very afraid. Just like them, we need to learn to stand against our urge to run away from difficulty. Some of the greatest lessons in life take place when we stand instead of run. When we stand against the full force of difficulty, I believe God can speak to us in new and profound ways. One of the curious things in this verse is that the word deliverance is the word Jesus in Hebrew. I am not saying that this verse is talking about Jesus, but just that the word deliverance is Jesus’ name. Jesus is God’s deliverance. When we stand firm in trouble we approach Jesus in new ways, and if we run, we never get to see. So today, as you face difficulty, don’t run. Stand and look for Jesus to show up in profound ways. And when He does show up, perhaps in the peace you find in the middle of the turmoil, take time to honor and worship Him.
The Arnold Journey 