“Stand Still Before the Lord”  

**INTRODUCTION

Hello. My name is Bret McCasland. Welcome to “Key to the Kingdom.” Do you ever find yourself running around trying to find a solution to your problem? You may need a certain kind of food from a store, but it just cannot be found anywhere. You may be searching for a doctor to help you overcome a physical problem, but no one offers much assistance. We have all been in such situations. We have a problem. We need an answer. We're not getting any satisfaction. We even turn to the Lord and seek and ask for His help. And yet the answers do not readily come. We may even reach a point where we are ready to give in, not only on our own efforts, but we wonder about giving up on God. Life is like that sometimes, isn't it? We are overwhelmed with a problem for which we cannot find a solution. What do we do then? What are our options? In today's episode of “Key to the Kingdom,” we will summarize several stories found in the Bible. In each of them, an answer was eventually found. The solution came from the Lord. Perhaps you will even be able to see yourself in some of these stories. Oh, I hope we all see the importance of standing still before the Lord and allowing Him to work in our lives. I encourage you to open up your Bibles with me now, as we study together.

**LESSON

Have you ever felt as if your back was up against a wall? I suppose we've all felt like that at one time or another. But if that was the case, what did you do? You found yourself in a situation and you did not know for sure how you got there, and you really did not know how you were going to get out of that situation. And it was a challenge. You just didn't know what to do. But perhaps the very first thing you did was cry out to God for help. And no doubt that was a good thing. You asked the Lord to provide a solution. You wanted to get an answer to the problem, and you knew He could provide. Or you may have gone to some trusted friends or counselors, family members, and they offered some insight as well; but, you knew the Lord could provide for you. And yet, there are times in life when we need to just stand still before the Lord and to wait. There are times that we just need to stand there. There are times when we wait upon the Lord to provide a solution, and we know that the timing is just not right at that very moment, and so we trust God to provide, in just the right way, according to His plan and His timetable. One of the most reassuring thoughts I believe we could ever have is this: God knows my struggles and He already has a solution. My guess is you can say that very thing, yourself; that God sees what's going on in your life and He is way ahead of you. He's way ahead of me. He has some plans and purposes in life, for our lives, and it’s just going to take some time, perhaps, for them to work out. In our lesson today, I want us to look at several different stories from the Bible and see how we are to stand still and allow God to work out a plan for our life. The first story comes from Exodus chapter 14. There we find God leading the Israelites out of Egyptian captivity, through the hand of Moses. And as they come out of captivity, not long after, they find themselves at the Red Sea and they don't know what to do. They know if they try to go across the Red Sea, then they will drown; but, if they turn back and go from where they came, then the Egyptians will capture them and take them back into captivity. And so they cry out to God for help. They don't know what to do. And Moses cries out to God as well. And here is the answer that comes back. In verses 13 and 14, we find these words: <Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you only need to be still.”> What a message! God, through Moses, told the people just stand still, just wait and watch what God is going to do. And in fact, God did do the rest. We find this in verse 15: <The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to Me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward.”> You know, the time for crying out to God was over and now they needed to move ahead. And that's exactly what they did. They moved ahead into the Red Sea; and as they did, God parted the waters and they walked across, not in mud, but on dry land. And yet they would not have known to do that had they not stood still, as God told them to do, and waited upon Him to provide a solution. You know, sometimes we find ourselves in a situation like that. We don't know which way to go. And here's the thought: We are to stand still and allow God to deliver us from the disaster that is about to strike. I hope that we when we find ourselves in a situation where we don't know what to do and where to go, that we will just stand still before the Lord. Here's another story. In Isaiah chapter 43, God told His prophet, Isaiah, to share with the people a very reassuring message during a time of great uncertainty. And this is the message he had for them in verses 1 and 2: <“Thus says the Lord, He who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, and the flames shall not consume you.’”> Four different things are identify there; the rivers and the waters, and the fire and the flame. But basically, God is telling them, through Isaiah, none of that is a match for God because He will be with you in the midst of those storms, in the midst of the fires and the flames and the water that seems to be overwhelming you. Well, why is that? We find it in the text; that, God knows these people. He calls them by name. They belong to Him. Sometimes we might find ourselves in the midst of some storms, and it is about to take us under. The fire is hot where we're walking. Boy, there's, there are all kinds of problems and pain along with those struggles; but, we are to remember that the Lord has redeemed us, just like He redeemed His people long ago. He redeemed us through the blood of Jesus Christ. He knows who we are. We belong to Him. He sees what's going on in our life. He knows the number of hair that are on the top of our head. And so with confidence, we can be reassured that God is with us as we are going through the trials and the storms of life. Can you recall a time when you were faced with some storms? You did not know how to handle them. In fact, someone has described four D’s as the ultimate storms of life; they are disaster, disease, divorce and death. And perhaps all of us, to one level or another, have experienced at least one or more of those events. And when that happens, we can be reassured that God sees us in the midst of those fires and in the midst of those waters, and He will provide. And so here's the point: We are to stand still and be reminded of God's reassuring presence in our lives. Here's the third story. There was a time when the people of Israel wanted a king to rule over them. A series of judges had ruled over them in the past, and they had grown weary of that. All of the other nations had a king ruling over them, and so that's what they wanted for themselves. Well, the judge, Samuel, who was the ruler over them at that time, said, I don't think that's a good idea because this king will come in and he will take from you more than he will ever give back to you. He will take away your wives, your children, your livestock. He will take your possessions and your crops. You don't realize that now, but the time is coming when that will be the case. And yet the people continued to demand a king. Well, God heard those cries for a king and he gave in to them, and Saul became the first king of Israel. Well, Samuel's prophecy turned out to be true. It was not a good thing for those people. And toward the end of Samuel's life, as he was about to pass away, he gave what we might call a farewell speech to the people. He retold the stories of how God had intervened in the lives of their forefathers and how He continually watched over and took care of them, and also these current people. But he encouraged them to follow King Saul, even though it wasn't going well. Even though he was not doing a good job of leading the people, and sure enough, he was taking from them more than he was giving to them. But in that message, there are two places where he encourages the people to simply stand still before the Lord and to allow the Lord to provide the necessary leadership. Listen to these words from Samuel, in verse 7 and verse 16 of that 12th chapter. <"Now therefore stand still that I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous deeds of the Lord, that He performed for you and for your fathers. Now therefore stand still and see this great thing the Lord will do before your eyes."> Well, the message is clear. Samuel says, stand still, in other words, wait upon God, and see what He will do, see how He will work good out of the bad. Samuel tried to get across a very important message to the people: In spite of their pride, in spite of their demand for a king, so they could be like everybody else, God would bring about something good. In other words, wait upon the Lord and He will solve this problem for you. In the meantime, they were to be faithful to the Lord's commands. They were to follow the one whom God set before them. Yes, you sinned, you demanded a king, you had a prideful spirit, but God is going to make things right. Sometimes in our life we think we know what is best for us and we make certain demands upon God. We think we have the best plan. We want to go in this direction or that direction, and we expect God to open the doors to make that happen. Well sometimes, because of our prideful spirit, because we think we know what is best, we get things that are much worse than what they currently are. Well, what is the lesson that we can learn? I believe it is very simply this: We are to stand still and allow God to show us the error of our way. And when that happens, then we can make some adjustments and we can wait upon God; not only to show us the error, but also to show us the way that we now need to go forward. Here's another story. Perhaps it's more familiar to you. It’s found in Acts chapter 9. There we read about a man by the name of Saul. He was very intent in persecuting all of those who belong to the way of Jesus Christ. He would persecute them. He would put them into prison. He even consented to their death. Well, one day, while he and his friend were traveling to the city of Damascus, a great light from heaven shined down upon him and knocked him to the ground. He was blinded for three days. And yet, in that state, in that condition, God spoke to him and said, “Why are you working against Me instead of working with Me?” That gave Saul some things to think about. He got back up on his feet, went into Damascus, and there he became a changed person. He was baptized into Jesus Christ, and then he became a faithful witness of the Lord throughout the rest of his life. Well, while he was there on the ground, God got Saul's attention and He changed his life. We fast forward to the end of the Book of Acts, in chapter 26, and we find Saul, who is now known as the Apostle Paul, standing before King Agrippa, on trial for his life. And he recounts that story, and how God had intervened. And this is the way he told it to Agrippa, that God told him this: <"‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’"> As Saul got to his feet on that occasion, fully aware of the sin in his life, fully aware of the changes he needed to make, God gave him a new direction. God does the same thing with us. Sometimes we sin, we fall down, we make mistakes, and He reveals Himself to us; oh, not in such a dramatic way. But by His grace, He forgives us. He gets us back up on our feet when we have fallen, and He gives us a new direction. And so here is the thought: We are to stand still and receive a second chance. Well, here's another story. In the Old Testament book called 2nd Chronicles, in chapter 20, we find a story about a king named Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat was the king of Judah, leading those people; but there were other nations around them. The Meunites and the Ammonites and the Moabites were all making war with Jehoshaphat and his people. And so the king prays to God for help. He knows he's in a bad situation and he and his army cannot withstand these powerful armies that surround them. This is his prayer, in part, beginning with verse 12: <"We have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.” And all the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord.> Isn’t that interesting? Every man, woman and child stood before the Lord and waited upon Him to provide an answer. Oh, they recognized they had no power of their own to stand before such a vast army of people. But God did act upon their behalf. In fact, we find in verse 15, the Prophet Jahaziel said these words to them: <"Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.”> He goes on to add this, in verse 17: <“You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.”> Those are some of the most comforting words we could ever hear ourselves. That God is fighting our battles on our behalf. And we have only to be still and watch God work. That sounds exciting, doesn't it? And we know that in this very story, God delivered them and those enemies were struck down. King Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah were victorious because God had provided for them. He defeated their enemies, He won the battles, and they were successful. Well, here's the point for us, it's quite obvious: We are to stand still and watch God work on our behalf. We can know with all assurance that He will do just that. Here is one final story for us to consider. It all fits into the idea of standing still before God, as the Israelites were about to conquer and take possession of the Promised Land, a man named Joshua is leading the way. Moses had led them out of captivity, and now Joshua was the one to lead them in that conqueroring process. And God sends him and the people to a place called Jericho, and prepares them to overtake that city. But Jericho is a great city. It is walled, surrounded by at least perhaps one or two walls around that city. The army is vast, the people are powerful, and Joshua is discouraged. He cannot see a way in the world where he and his army and his people can take possession of Jericho. This is what God tells him, in Joshua 6 and verse 2: <“See! I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king, and mighty men of valor."> Before Joshua even arrived on the scene, God had already solved the problem. He recognized that Jericho was a big city, had lots of people, and it would be a difficult battle. But He told Joshua, “I have already delivered them into your hand.” Isn't that amazing? And He also tells Joshua, “See, I. Look at Me. Look at what I am doing, and the victory I have already provided.” And so Joshua and the people were to see the Lord and not the enemy. They were to see the Lord and not the obstacle. Oh, they faced a daunting task. But as they obeyed the Lord and kept their eyes upon Him, indeed, the Lord provided the victory and the people conquered the city. Some of us might have a few enemies in our life. I hope not. But we may or may not even know if we have some enemies in our life. They may be in the form of some difficult people with whom we have to live or work or see from time to time; and we don't know for sure how to handle them. They’re obstacles. They’re problems. And yet the Lord, I believe, would tell us the same thing: Just keep your eyes focused on Me and I'll deal with them. I'll deal with those relationships. And that is the best thing to do. When we face our obstacles, when we experience difficult times with our enemies, remember that God has already worked out a plan that He will provide for us. He will help us to overcome those difficult people or situations. And we remember that the battle, indeed, belongs to the Lord. And so the point for that particular story is this: We need to stand still and allow God to defeat the enemies in our life. Oh, again, that's reassuring, isn't it? God sees the difficult people, the big obstacles that await us. But He is at work. He is in the process of providing a solution. When I think about all these stories, and no doubt there are many other stories here in the Bible that we could refer to, I think about one passage of Scripture that seems to summarize all of them together as one, and here it is; it comes from the Prophet Isaiah. Notice his words in chapter 40, beginning with verse 31: <Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.> How many times have we heard that passage of Scripture, that we wait upon the Lord? We receive our strength from the Lord, and we can soar above those obstacles and those problems when God is at work in our lives. Several years ago, I went through some very difficult times in life, a situation I had never been in before and I did not know what to do. But one of my trusted advisers and counselors and friend told me, “Bret, there is nothing you can do to fix this problem.” I realized that was true, that I had to learn to wait upon the Lord; and that's exactly what I did. When somebody tells you there is nothing you can do to fix the problem in your life, then stand still and allow God to work out a solution. And in fact, know that He already has one in place. I would encourage you to find those opportunities to stand still before God, to wait upon Him who loves you so very much and know that He will provide a solution to the problems in your life.

**VIDEO CLIP 

At times, do you find yourself in a very difficult situation? Life seems to be overwhelming. All of the noise, all of the traffic, all of the things going on in the world and you don't know for sure how you can handle it. You've got some big decisions to make. You're struggling with life and don't know for sure what to do. You might even feel as if you can't even cross a busy intersection. You're uncertain about what to do. It's interesting to read some of the stories that we find in God's Word, the Bible. In some of them, the people find themselves in a very difficult situation, just like this. They don't know what to do and they cry out to God for help. And God basically tells them, don't do anything, just stand there and wait for Me to do something. Watch how I am going to work in your life and I will solve the problem that seems so overwhelming to you. That makes a lot of sense, doesn't it? Sometimes we want to come up with our own plan, our own solution, and oftentimes those solutions work, but many times they don't. Perhaps the answer is to just wait upon God. Stand still before the Lord and allow God to work in our life. Allow God to come up with a solution and a plan; and perhaps it’s something we have not even thought about. But God is in the business of solving our problems. He is in the business of providing some answers for the overwhelming times and situations that we encounter in life. I would encourage you, today, to think about whatever concerns you today, whatever is overwhelming, whatever is life threatening, perhaps. Stand still! Wait upon God! And He will provide the solution you need.

**CONCLUSION

Thank you for joining us for today's broadcast. I hope this message about standing still before the Lord and waiting for His answer was beneficial. Standing still before God is something we all need to do, all the time. If you would like to hear this message again, we make it available on our website, keytothekingdom.com. It can be downloaded in audio, video or written format. It does not cost anything to do so and there is no commitment required. Other lessons are there as well. In addition to that, a variety of other Bible studies are available which may assist you in your own individual and personal walk with the Lord. One-minute and two-minute devotional thoughts are on the website, and they provide an encouraging word for the day. I also invite you to notice our basic beliefs and other information about this mass-media ministry. If you have any questions, please send us an email or contact us through the website. Once again, thank you for joining us for today's broadcast. It has been our privilege to share this message from God's Word. And please, join us again next time as we continue to study the Bible on “Key to the Kingdom.”