Go Forward

"Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward.'"

Exodus 14:15

The Israelites had come to the Red Sea with Pharoah's army in hot pursuit. God had already promised he would deliver them, but the people were afraid and doubted, preferring  to go back into Egyptian captivity rather than trust in the Lord's deliverance. This exhortation to Moses from the Lord comes on the heels of Moses' answer to the grumblings of the Israelites. Moses had told them. “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent.” Moses' faith was intact, but his spirit it would seem was crying out to God. What he was praying, we're not told. (Perhaps, like other times, he was interceding with the Lord on behalf of the Israelites. Afraid that their contentious behavior would stay God's hand.) The Lord's response to Moses was to go forward. There is a time to pray and a time to act. The Lord didn't answer Moses in anger. Moses had been in communication with God and had been told the plan. He didn't need to pray about it any more. He needed to act on what God had told him. "There is a time to quit praying and start marching." -- Pastor Chuck Smith. If God has already told you what to do. . .go forward.