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."

What a pep talk! Every one of the Israelites at the Red Sea that day had been born in captivity in Egypt. They had heard grand stories of the God of their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but they certainly didn’t know Him for themselves. The Lord had been seemingly silent for the past four hundred and thirty years. It’s no wonder that they stood at the edge of the Red Sea with the Egyptians hot on their tails and cried out to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!" (Exodus 14:11-12 NIV)

Of course it’s easy to look at that situation with the benefit of having read the rest of the chapter and say how ridiculous the cries of the Israelites were. It just showed the extent to which they truly did not know God or His mighty power. On the other side of the sea, however, when they saw what the Lord had done, the Bible says they “feared the Lord and believed in Him and in His servant Moses.” (Exodus 14:31 HCSB)

Fast forward to our day and time. What are the battles that you are facing? Maybe it is persecution at work or school because of your faith. Maybe it is sickness, disease, or death. Whatever in your life is presenting itself as a Red Sea in front of you or Pharaoh and his army chasing you down from behind, the Lord will fight for you. And where is your place of service in the battle? Your fighting position is on your knees before Him in stillness and quiet. It is there that you will be fitted with the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the evil one.

Father, I thank you that you are not a god who is aloof and disengaged from us, but that you are God who is in our world and in our lives, fighting for us every day, whether we realize it or not.