"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." (Exodus 14:13-14 NIV)

As I was reading this story of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea to escape the
Egyptians, I was struck again by the fact that the Israelites complained to
Moses so many times, when things just didn't seem to be going the way they
wanted them to. Just before this, they had complained that they might as well
have died in Egypt, as come out into the desert to die.

They just didn't seem to be able to grasp the fact that God was looking after
them, that this was a part of His plan for them. They were about to see one of
the most spectacular demonstrations of God's power, as the sea piled up on
itself and cleared a dry way for them to cross over to the other side – yet they
still doubted.

Sometimes we can feel like we are in the midst of a situation that we can see no
way out of. The "chronic" part or chronic illness, means that this will not
just be something we face today, it will possibly need to be faced again and
again.

Moses words here are a great reminder for us too, that the Lord will fight for
us, we need only to be still, trusting Him and standing firm on the promises He
gives us.

We may not see anything as dramatic as the parting of the Red Sea, but we can
still know the power of God helping us in our everyday lives. God will be there
in the good times and also in the tough times.

At the end of the chapter it says "..When the Isarelites saw the great power the
Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their
trust in Him..."

We need to stand firm, trusting in our all-knowing, all-powerful God.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Fiona Burrows lives in Melbourne, Australia and is so grateful that God is
"fighting for" her in every part of her life as she lives with chronic back
pain.