As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, the scriptures provide many directions as to what we should do and how we should act. For example:
Our Walk
Ephesians 5: 2 ‘And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us’.
Ephesians 5: 8 ‘For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light’.
Ephesians 5:15-16 ‘See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil’.
We should Run
1 Corinthians 9:24 ‘Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain’.
Hebrews 12:1 ‘Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us’.
Despite the assurances of the scriptures we all experience times of difficulty when we are at a low ebb. It may be we cannot see beyond the next ‘little while’ and questions and doubts arise. So, what can we do in such circumstances?
Stand Still
Romans 15:4 tells us ‘For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope’.
We can draw upon the experience of the people of God. In Exodus 14:13 we read, ‘And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day’.
Then in 2 Chronicles 20:17 ‘Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you’.
As the children of Israel came out of Egypt, they soon found themselves surrounded, the Egyptians pursuing them and the Red Sea, a barrier in front of them. They had nowhere to turn but they had to learn that they had someone to turn to. How comforting the words of Moses as he instructed them to ‘stand still and see the salvation of the LORD’.
In 2 Chronicles 20, Jehoshaphat found that the enemies were gathering momentum and we read that he ‘feared, and set himself to seek the LORD ’ (verse 3). He stood in the congregation and prayed (verses 6-12). How like him do we feel at times? ‘we have no might …. neither know we what to do:’ (verse12). How wonderful to be able to reflect upon the One in whose hand is ‘power and might’ (verse 6).
We can rely on a prayer-answering God. Through Jahaziel, the Lord gave the reassurance that Jehoshaphat and the people of God needed. They too could ‘stand still and see the salvation of the LORD’.
So, at times whilst conscious of how we walk and run, we too may do well to stand still and rely on the Lord to work out His purposes in our lives.
Steve