Be still

Can you imagine what it’s like to stand still as the greatest army in the world bears down on you? Every instinct in you is telling you either to fight or flee. Do you instinctively want to stand and fight your weaknesses and your problems with your own strength, in your own way? Or do you naturally tend to flee from your problems and hope that if you ignore your weaknesses they will disappear? Maybe you’re in the midst of conflict or uncertainty. Maybe you fear exposure or shame. Maybe you feel as if your world is falling apart. You will want to come out fighting or you will want to run away.

And God says, “Be still”.

That doesn’t mean you can abdicate responsibility and do nothing. It means you take responsibility for what is your responsibility—but that you leave the rest to God. Our problem is often that we take responsibility for what is not our responsibility. I’m responsible for being a good parent, but I’m not responsible for the choices of my children—I must leave that to God and be still. I’m responsible for being a good employee, but I’m not responsible for the actions of my boss—I must leave that to God and be still. I’m responsible for telling others the gospel, but I’m not responsible for their salvation—I must leave that to God and be still. And ultimately, while I’m responsible for my sin, I am not responsible for achieving my forgiveness—I must leave that to God too, and be still.

When we try to take control of our world or of our eternal future, we’re in effect saying, God’s not doing a good job so I’m going to step in. The result is over-busyness, stress and unwise decisions, because it turns out that we’re not very good at doing God’s job for him. And God graciously says, “The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still” (Exodus 14:14).

It turns out that we’re not very good at doing God’s job for him.

There was a period of his life when Martin Luther, the great Reformer, was in hiding in a castle. He spent his time translating the Bible into German, but it was a dark time for him. He struggled with doubt and discouragement. He felt attacked by the devil—on one occasion, he famously threw an inkpot at him. But his more successful strategy was this. He was heard shouting in the grounds of the castle, “Baptisatus sum”: “I am baptised”. How Luther felt was up and down. His circumstances looked bleak. But his baptism was a fact and it was a fact that embodied the promise of God. He felt he had little fight left, but the truth was that, in all the ways that eternally mattered, the fight was not his—God had already fought for him, and won for him.

In his Large Catechism, Luther wrote:

“Thus we must regard Baptism and make it profitable to ourselves, that when our sins and conscience oppress us, we strengthen ourselves and take comfort and say: Nevertheless I am baptised; but if I am baptised, it is promised me that I shall be saved and have eternal life, both in soul and body.” (Part Four)

When we are afraid—when we feel the weight of our sin or the power of the enemy, we can say, “I am baptised”. In other words, I have received a promise from God. God is for me. And if God is for me, who can be against me? I will not be afraid. I will stand firm. I will be still.

This is an extract from Exodus For You by Tim Chester. An expository guide that shows how the foundational book of Exodus foreshadows Christ, points to the new creation, and calls us to radical discipleship. Available now.

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