"The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace" (Exodus 14:14)

I have a new scripture that I get to add to my list of favorites. It is: "The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace" (Exodus 14:14). What more could one want than to have the Lord fight their battles? We all have battles to be fought, or perhaps we are in the middle of one. If God fights our battles, what is it we are suppose to do?

(my scripture study journal)

The Lord answers that question in the same verse: "Hold your peace", like it is a precious gift that I must never let go of or drop. When I first read this scripture, the image of a woman holding a basket full of peace immediately came to mind. I love this image, holding it like it is precious and has room to grow.

And then the image changed.

In my mind's eye is a woman holding "Peace", as if Peace were a child. The woman cares for her, nourishes her, encouraging her to grow big and strong. The hope is that Peace will grow so big that she becomes, well, me. Can I really grow into "Peace"?

I believe that President Ezra Taft Benson has given us a way to have and hold our peace so that it grows and becomes who we are. He said: "The price of peace is righteousness. Men and nations may loudly proclaim, 'Peace, peace,' but there shall be no peace until individuals nurture in their souls those principles of personal purity, integrity, and character which foster the development of peace. Peace cannot be imposed. It must come from the lives and hearts of men (and women). There is no other way" (The Path to Peace).

This phrase. "Hold your peace" is repeated in D&C 11:22. The Lord is telling us to: "Hold your peace" by the "study of my word". My daily experience is that I do feel His peace, which "passeth all understanding" (Philippians 4:7) as I study His words in the scriptures and the words of His prophets and apostles. Over time, as I have studied to "learn of [Him], and listen to [His] words" (D&C 19:23) I have changed as His words become a part of me. Scripture study has become a way for me to hold my peace. And that peace feels...beautiful!

I am learning that as I trust the Lord to fight my battles, I can hold my peace. The peace of truth and living it. The peace of integrity, and living it. The peace of making and keeping covenants and living them. In all these, I "Hold [my] Peace". This I testify.

"The Lord shall fight for you and you shall hold your peace" (Exodus 14:14)