God, What Do YOU Say? (Exodus 14:14, Part 2)

Pharoah set the Israelites free and then had deliverance remorse. So the Egyptians (in horses and chariots) charged after the Israelites (who were toting bowls of dough, gold, and animals). They didn’t exactly have an advantage. And then, to up the ante, God sends them to where they are geographically cornered. The heat was on and Moses said just “be still; God will fight for you”. [For more on that, read Part 1 on Exodus 14:14 here.] But even when someone with the authority and street cred of Moses tells us something, we need to pause a minute and see if that’s in line with what’s on God’s heart. We need to practice discerning the voice of man and the voice of God, asking, “God, what do you say?”

So Moses essentially said, “Chill out. Let go and let God. You don’t need to do anything.” This sounds good to me actually. I like that plan. Many of us stop right there in the Scripture because we got a bite of a feel-good word, and we stop content. But we stop too short. Because Moses was speaking of his own accord. This was not a case where God instructed him on what to say. Nope. Moses just told the people a half truth, half fluff. And immediately following Moses’ pep-talk (which I really like by the way), then God quickly retorts, “What are you talking about?? Move it!!” Now, if the God of all Peace tells me to run, I know 1000% that it’s not without cause. If God says go, let’s be good as gone!

–> (Read these translations of Exodus 14:14-15 for yourself to get a really good feel for what just happened at this point in the story.)

If the people listened to Moses and stopped at “Just be still; God’s got this”, it would have been their certain death actually. This shows us that we HAVE to press in and make sure our instruction and timing are God-directed.

It’s crucial that even when the enemy is closing in and our newfound deliverance is at risk of being stolen again, we have to pause long enough to say, “God, what do you say?” We can’t just take a quick answer from when a leader or mentor or TikToker gives us guidance for what to do in that crucial moment. Yes, gather wise counsel! Definitely! But when the pressure is on to make a quick and life-changing decision, we have to pause long enough to know whose voice we are about to follow.

But there are so many voices in the world, and it muddles the waters of our decision making. We have people we look to for guidance like our pastors, mentors, counselors, and parents. We also look to peers for guidance. And let’s be honest, we poke around TikTok and Instagram like wandering in the dark, hoping an answer from God will pop up there too. Sure, sometimes and even often God DOES speak through others around us, even donkeys.

But if we’re not first going to the Source, then how do we have a filter for all the other voices? If we’re not first familiar with God’s voice, how He speaks, and what is in line with what He normally says in His Word, then how will we know when someone leads us astray? Often we’re led astray, not by blatantly wrong guidance, but by subtle words that sound honestly pretty good and holy.

So let’s take a warning from Exodus 14:14 to not stop too short. Let’s press on one more verse, one more fast, one more hour. Let’s press in a little deeper. And let’s be people who take the convincing and authoritative guidance of man to the Lord and say, “God, what do you say about this?” Because if God said it, He will do it!

I guarantee you that God will speak to you through mentors and leaders and even Facebook. But I also guarantee you that the enemy might try to use an authority figure’s mouth to get you off track and sneak you back into bondage.

There’s wisdom in seeking much counsel. 100%. But ultimately, we have to know if their counsel is in agreement with God’s. So this is all just one big encouragement to press in a little deeper in prayer today on your decisions. A gentle reminder to make sure you know you’ve got the Lord’s final say on how to secure your deliverance, your freedom, and your next decision.