Spoken by Moses at the edge of the Red Sea to a people fleeing an enemy. Their obedience resulted in one of the greatest miracles of all time as that sea split and they escaped that enemy on dry land.
Thousands of years later, Jesus was in a similar position. The Enemy of Enemies was determined to take out the King of Kings. He had him cornered in a garden, where Jesus was praying much the same way those Israelites of long ago must have prayed. "Is there any way out?"
We don't have God's answer, but we can extrapolate from Jesus' response. I believe the Father said, "Stand Firm. Be Still."
He could say that because, just like long ago, he was doing the fighting, and he would bring the victory."
Where the Egyptian army never caught up to the Israelites before they were swept away with the collapsing sea walls, this Enemy got his hooks into Jesus.
And he thought he'd won.
But not every victory looks the same. While the Israelites' victory split the sea and led them toward the promised land, Jesus victory split the veil that had separated mankind from the Father since the first promised land was called Eden.
But let's not rush past this. Standing firm was painful. It was bloody and awful, and Jesus didn't have to take it for a second. He stood still and let them whip him. He let them smash a crown of thorns on his head. He let them beat him and spit on him and pull out his beard. He let them drive nails with painful blow after painful blow through his hands and feet... How could he do it? How could he be still through all of that when he could have stopped it at any time?
Hebrews 12:2 says he did it "for the joy set before him."
And that joy is you.
Nehemiah 8:10 says "The joy of the Lord is your strength." Did you ever consider that the joy of a people redeemed was Jesus' strength in his greatest hour of need?
Jesus endured because he looked through that veil with the eyes of faith and saw you. He fixed his eyes on you in that dark garden, so that you would be able to fix your eyes on him in your long, dark night of the soul.
His eyes locked with yours. That's how standing firm begins.
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