Peace in the Time of Trouble

Imagine that you had been in bondage for a great length of time. For the children of Israel, that had been 400 years. Then, by a great miracle, God hears your cry’s and brings forth a deliverance that goes beyond comprehension. As you are marching out of the city, you are filled with joy that is beyond measure. At last, … FREEDOM! You are leaving in the midst of darkness and leaving behind everything that reminds you of the hard times that caused you deep depression and anguish. As you and hundreds of thousands of your “kinsfolks” are traveling, your mind does not want to think of the past; however recent that may be. All you can think of is your bright future ahead.

The man who is leading you out is somewhat peculiar. He was a son of Egyptian royalty who fled the throne. He had murdered a fellow Egyptian in defending an Israelite slave and his whereabouts for the last several decades was unknown. You know his natural brother and sister yet he remains somewhat of a mystery. Yet, he leads with quite assurance. His brother Aaron does all of the talking. Yet one cannot deny God’s hand upon this man of God. The miracles are undeniable. However, each time a miracle is done, Pharaohs heart is hardened even more; and he exacts his rage on the Israelite slaves. There are those who do not have the vision of Aaron and Moses and therefore begin to whiter under the oppressive hand of Pharaoh; even to the point of rejecting Moses as their leader. And then the last of the plagues becomes your ticket to freedom. Moses has prepared his people for this last epic miracle by telling them to be ready; to cook a feast and prepare their bread without leaven. The blood from the lamb that they killed for the feast is to be applied on the doorpost as a sign to the death angel to “pass-over” any location where the blood was applied. God is fulfilling his purpose through this elderly peculiar leader.

Again, you’re seemingly out of danger. You are encamped against a sea. During the day, a strange cloud leads you on your journey. At night, an even stranger “pillar of fire” settles over you as a guard watching over his people. Your leader seems to be in some form of conversation with someone that you cannot see. All of a sudden, here they come. The enemy that you had fled is in hot pursuit. Your backs are against the wall or in this instance the sea. Sudden fear comes upon you in the form of panic. You are so afraid even your speech becomes irrational. You cry against your leader and lose faith in his leadership. You even wish that you are back in the land of Egypt. Your heart and mind are overtaken in panic.

Then your leader stands before you and speaks in comforting tones, “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.” In the midst of panic, this peculiar leader brings the words that you need to hear in order to not only rest your fear but to also help you to move forward. And the rest, as they say, becomes history.

The world knows this account as Moses and the Red Sea. However, if we are not careful we can become so familiar with the “story” that we miss the lesson and more importantly miss applying the lesson in our lives.

The Coronavirus has the world captivated. With it brings a degree of fear and even, if we are not careful panic. This is not helped by a media that thrives off of the latest headline or breaking news. The speed at which the news cycle is on nowadays exacerbates the problem. Every news agency is trying to beat the other’s with the latest news, sometimes without checking sources or even editing, for correctness, the content. This speed and inaccuracy adds to the fear and panic. It is as if Pharaohs army is charging against us at break neck speed… and our backs are seemingly against the wall.

In the midst of the pandemic, we must, “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the “enemy” 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.” In the time of Moses, the danger did not subside when he spoke these words. In fact, Pharaoh and his army were moving full steam ahead when Moses commanded the children of Israel to move forward into the sea. The danger was moving closer. The pillar of fire was keeping the onslaught of Pharaohs army at bay. However, their faith was increasing.

We are in the midst of this pandemic yet God wants his people not to panic. He has peace in this time of trouble for all those that trust in Him. This does not alleviate the danger. However, we know that God is in control … just as he was in the day of Moses. If we remain true and trust in his deliverance, we can be a help to others who may be struggling in the midst of this present day fear and panic. Should God tarry, He will bring us through and the sun will shine again!