62_Fear not, stand firm Exodus 14:10-14 When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” 13 And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” Fear not, stand firm. These words echo across the centuries, strengthening those who face trials and tribulations. They summon us to trust, not in our circumstances or strength, but in the Lord’s unshakable promises. Corrie Ten Boom, a Dutch Christian who endured the horrors of a Nazi concentration camp, often shared an exchange she had with her father as a young girl. One day, as a young girl, she expressed her worry that she would not have the courage to be a martyr. Her father, a wise and faithful man, asked her a simple question: "Corrie, when you are about to take a train, when do I give you the ticket?" She thought for a moment and replied, "Just before I get on the train." Her father nodded and said, "Exactly. And our wise Father in heaven knows when we’re going to need things too. Don’t run ahead of Him, Corrie. When the time comes that some of us will have to die, you will look into your heart and find the strength you need – just in time." This was one of the truths that anchored Corrie through terrible trials. God’s strength and provision met her at the exact moment of need—not before, but never late. It’s a lesson as old as the story of the Israelites at the Red Sea. The Israelites, newly freed from the chains of Egyptian bondage, find themselves standing before the mighty flow of the Red Sea. Behind them is the deafening thunder of hooves and the clatter of Pharaoh’s chariots. The same Pharaoh who had grudgingly released them after the devastating plagues is now in furious pursuit. The people are trapped and terrified. Understandably, they scream at Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?” Fear has a way of making us forget. Just hours earlier, they had witnessed God’s mighty hand against the firstborn of Egypt. It produced an instantaneous turnaround in Pharaoh’s stance, paving the way for their immediate departure from Egypt. They had watched as the Lord spared their firstborn while Egypt mourned