Spiritual Fidgeting

Luke Watters
Jun 19, 2017
3 min read

“And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord. And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness. 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: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.” - Exodus‬ ‭14:10-14‬

As I read this passage from Exodus I am reminded how quickly we jump to trying to "fix" our situations instead of first allowing God to work in them. It's like we have this uncontrollable need to flinch. Almost a spiritual reflex that kicks us out of the presence of grace and immediately requires that we fend for ourselves. For Christians it's deeply troubling that we still function this way after receiving a salvation that is rooted in "grace through faith and not of works lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). For us to transition so quickly from a solo gratia (by grace alone) attitude to one where we must "measure up" is damaging for us individually and for the body of Christ. The most unsettling part of this whole phenomenon is that is occurs during times in our lives when we need to press into Jesus and trust His grace the most. When a family member is ill, a relationship struggles, or when our plans go haywire we forget that God is always with us and is fighting for us. Rather we immediately assume this is a bad thing and that we need to hurry and right the ship when in reality the trials we face have eternal value in our lives (James 1).

This account in Exodus of Moses leading the people through the Red Sea and God closing the sea and defeating the enemies of God's chosen people didn't happen by chance. God needed them to reach the edge of the sea and realize their need for God's rescue in their lives. Without their honesty about their circumstances they lost the power of the testimony of what God was getting ready to do for them. Sometimes we limit the power of our own testimony when we try to overcompensate when we feel our own will desiring that we "HURRY UP, DO SOMETHING!" instead of allowing God to work. Not only does this keep us from learning to depend on God but had the Israelites tried to swim the Red Sea or outrun the Egyptians by a different route they simply wouldn't have survived.

When we are struggling to stand still and let God move we need to be reminded of a few things. The first is that we cheat ourselves of an opportunity to press into God and allow him to lavish his love upon us. Secondly, we cheat God of a chance to show us and all the people who are witness to our lives just who He truly is and how great his love and mercy are for us. And finally, our own efforts to save ourselves can wind up putting us in places that not only hurt our relationship with God but just hurt us in general. We can lose our friends, our health, and even our honor when our actions are outside the will of God.

Stop letting your soul fidget, be still, and let God fight for you. I pray this finds you in the center of God's will and with a desire for more of Jesus in your heart.