The Lord will fight for you

Regular price: $17.50
Sale price: $17.50

Original artwork by Heather Gilion at Story Designs.

This reproduction of Story Designs' original painting of Exodus 14:14 is available now in prints!

Here's the story behind this painting.

I can't help but share a bit about this piece. This is a well known verse from Exodus. Recently while my sister, Holly, and I were teaching at various women's conferences, Holly spent some time unpacking this verse. So of course I couldn't wait to get home and paint another version of it! If you need a little refreshing on this verse, this Scripture occurs when Moses had just led the Israelite people out of captivity in Egypt. Do you remember the whole-- Moses: "LET MY PEOPLE GO!" Pharaoh: "NO!" But after a series of horrible plagues Pharaoh finally says, "Go! Get out of here!" And they take off rejoicing that they are finally free. God has done this incredible thing! But then they are led into the desert and find themselves between a rock and a hard place as Pharaoh changes his mind and decides to go after them. And the people realize there's no where to go. They really believe they have been led there to die. As the people rage and grumble and complain that Moses and ultimately God has led them there to die, Moses responds, "The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still." (Exodus 14:14). Some translations say "stay calm" or "stay silent" or "hold your peace." The Message translation says "keep your mouths shut." That's kinda funny to me, but oh how God has had to speak that over my anxious heart a time or two... or three. "Heather, you need to shut your mouth!" Because what do I do when I'm fearful or up against something that feels impossible, scary, too much, an imminent failure? I complain. I worry out loud, I list all the ways things will probably end poorly. And if I'm not worrying out loud, I've got an inner dialogue going that is much worse than what I'm saying out loud! Although that may be our natural, human response, God calls us to a better response. What if instead of grumbling and complaining, we set our eyes not on our circumstance but on our God! He's our Way-Maker. He says "I'm Possible in your IMPOSSIBLE!" So we trust. And we watch. And we close our mouths and cease our complaints and set our eyes on our Way-Making, Wonderful, Sea-Parting, Path-Making God who fights our battles!

And I love how God says to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to MOVE ON." And that's when the waters part and the Israelites "move on." God makes a way. Our part? Marching forward.

This artwork is available for a limited time in an 8x10 and 11x14, printed on fine art paper.