By Not Known
As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD (Exodus 14:10).
Fear is a very powerful emotion. It could cause one to panic and to speak and act ridiculously or irrationally, just like the Israelites. They panicked when the Egyptian army came after them, they blamed Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?” They had totally forgotten the powerful God who had just performed the ten miraculous signs and wonders of the plagues, that He could surely save them from the pursuing Egyptians. The Israelites were so afraid that they could only see their dire situation of being attacked by the powerful Egyptian army or being drowned in the Red Sea. They felt hopeless and desperate. Fear is so potent and can overwhelm a person, freezing his or her mind and making them forget to turn and call on the mighty and ever present God.
I acknowledge that fear is real and could creep up on believers anytime. I have learnt to practise two simple steps to deal with fear. Firstly, pray. In
v. 15, God tells Moses to lead the Israelites forward after hearing his prayer. Moses is a man of prayer. A commentator made this statement, “Moses’ silent prayers of faith prevailed more with God than Israel’s loud outcries of fear.”
Prayer is an acknowledgment that we have a powerful and great God. Through prayers, we know that God will hear our cries and grant us peace and calm. Moses was instructed to move toward the Red Sea. Sometimes, we freak out when we are trapped by overly focusing on our problem. We need to follow God’s instruction to move or to face our fears, trusting that nothing is impossible for God. Second, we need to have a high view of God. Moses viewed God as the Warrior God
(v. 14). God will fight for the Israelites. His confidence is in God. He assured the Israelites that God will fight for them. Often, when we are faced with a big problem, we try to deal with it on our own, we often forget the amazing God we have—He can deliver us and help us.
This is illustrated by what A W Tozer says, “Sometimes when we get overwhelmed we forget how big God is.”