Over the last month or so I keep hearing this three-word phrase: Hold your peace! So, I opened up the Bible looked up the phrase, and found it in the Old Testament. Here it is: “The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” Exodus 14: 14 NKJ
This chapter is the one where the children of Israel are about to cross over into the Red Sea. Moses is instructed by God to, “Speak to the children of Israel that they turn back and camp before Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, opposite Baal Zephron, you shall camp before it by the sea.” Exodus 14: 2
Let’s stop right here! God is telling Moses to lead Israel in a way that looked confused. He’s telling them to turn back, go back in the direction that they came from. What’s up with that?
God was leading them in a direction that did not make any sense, that was confusing. Why? He wanted to gain the honor over Pharoah through it. Here’s what God said, “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for Myself through Pharoah and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” Exodus 14: 4
Sometimes the direction we are led into makes no sense at all to us, but God has a greater purpose for it. God has a bigger picture that may include others.
Pharoh did just what God said he would do; he pursued the Israelites gathering all of his horses and chariots, his entire army and overtook them by the sea of Pi Hahiroth.
The Israelites thought they were being set up for disaster, but actually were being set up for a victory.
God is able to take any setback we encounter and turn it into a setup for us. God told them to camp in the very place where they were pursued. They were in view of the watchful eye of the enemy at Migdol. In the natural, that does not make any sense at all. They were in enemy territory! Yet, they were being guided by God’s presence, cloud by day and fire by night. Yes, they were being led to the place of feeling trapped.
How do we respond when our direction makes no sense at all to us, and the enemy is pursuing us?
Here’s how the Israelites responded: They were afraid. They blamed Moses asking him why they were in the wilderness saying they would die. They regretted that Moses was leading them out, when all along they were being led by God, being led into victory. They had said to Moses, “Let us stay where we are, serving the Egyptians.”
For some, staying in bondage is more comfortable and familiar than fighting your way forward and out.
A word of caution: Familiar is not freeing!
In their fear, it says, the children of Israel, “Cried out to the Lord.” This is always the right response!
Moses, a wonderful servant of God, responded beautifully in the midst of the accusations against him. He said, “Don’t be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today.” Exodus 14: 13
Here’s the next phrase, and the reason I am speaking, Underline it in your Bible:
“The Lord will fight for you, hold your peace.” Exodus 14: 14
At that point, Moses did not know HOW God was going to intervene. All he knew was that God WOULD help!
Whatever situation some of you are in today, the Lord is saying, “Hold your peace.”
Hold your peace is:
- Stop worrying.
- Don’t try to figure it all out.
- Trust God to make a way for you.
The Israelites were about to see God open up the sea for them. He was making a way for the impossible!
God is about to open up a way for some of you!
It’s interesting that I looked up the Hebrew meaning of this phrase, “Hold Your Peace,” used in this context. Here’s what the Strong’s Concordance says it means:
- To be silent even though there is something you want to say.
- To hold your tongue.
When we are in circumstances that don’t look favorable, do we usually hold our tongue? Do we proceed ahead without waiting for God to act?
Remember, the Israelites were in a position of being pursued by the enemy. The peace in the natural was not there; yet, God wanted them to learn the position of peace, of quiet trust, of being still and knowing He is God!
- That place of pressure can be made into a sanctuary of peace.
- That place of wanting to be free from the battle can become a place of allowing our Waymaker to fulfill His promise.
- That place of fear can become a place of trust in awaiting His timing of things.
Saints of God–Hold your peace! Hold your tongue from shooting off your mouth!
Peace is the very place we are to camp if we are to triumph over the enemy.
Peace is a weapon that confuses the enemy and gives us victory.
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