Exodus 4:10 "And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue."
Most of us know the story of the burning bush. Moses, while shepherding his flock, noticed a fire burning a bush without consuming it. Curious, he went to investigate only to discover it was no ordinary fire. God was manifesting His presence to Moses so He could give him some incredible news. In the Rachel version, the story unfolded somewhat like this:
"Moses, I have a very special job for you to do. As you know, my people are in bondage. But I want to use YOU, YOU MOSES, to lead them to freedom. Now, this is not going to be something ordinary. I AM going to be with you." God clarified by giving Moses His name. I AM. The very present One. THE God. The One from whom Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had received the promised inheritance was choosing Moses. The time for the promise was unfolding!
Still, Moses needed reassurance, so God explained in great detail the victory ahead. Israel would plunder Egypt by the Egyptians' willingness to give them their gold, silver, and jewels. God would safely lead all His people to worship on the very mountain on which the bush burned.
"I'm going to do all these amazing exploits so that my people and all the land will know without a doubt that I alone am God."
Then, standing there, barefoot on holy ground, Moses was permitted to experience the miraculous. Scary things like snakes and leprosy were created--then eliminated--Just like Pharaoh would be. Exciting, huh!?
Except Moses was still caught up in his inadequacies.And if HE saw himself as inadequate, how in the world would Israelite leaders or the mighty pharaoh of Egypt perceive him as more than a stuttering, bumbling, want-to-be-leader?
It wasn't that Moses didn't believe GOD could do what He said. Moses simply thought he needed certain qualifications for the follow-through. Just a quick glance around would confirm that everyone else was more capable, more adequate than he.
Isn't that often the place where our faith in God disconnects?
We believe God's Word. We know HE is powerful. We can hold the miraculous. Experience the holy. Hear God's voice. And be willing to be used. IF. IF God will make us a more polished version of ourselves, one without deficiencies and blemishes and weaknesses.
"Lord," Moses said, "You may not have noticed this when you decided to pick me for the job, but I have his speech problem. You see, I had it before I even saw this bush. Now, I know that I've encountered your presence, that I've heard your voice, that I've performed some miracles with my staff and my hand, but my tongue... well, you see Lord, I STILL have this speech problem...."
So, God replies, "I will be with your mouth, Moses. I will tell you what to say."
"Lord, send whomever you want, but I can't speak..."
Ironic, wouldn't you say? The "whomever" God wanted to send as His spokesperson was Moses. But Moses didn't want God to use him to speak.
Sounds like some of our reasoning. We respond to the move of God only to begin withdrawing our faith in Him when we see that He wants to use our weaknesses. Throwing down our rod is okay because, well, that's just a symbol of a life we never planned to live anyway. Using our hands is fine too because service can be done in the background. After all, only God could transform the rod and heal leprosy. However, unlike his transformed rod and hand, Moses had yet to hear his voice change. And speaking? Well, that's was an altogether different matter.
We have a Moses affliction. It's that area we struggle with. Our handicap. Where we're different. It's that flaw that's often the object of others' ridicule. Like speaking, it's something we should be capable of doing. But we can't. It's that thing that looks so easy for everyone else, but it's oh so difficult for us. It's our impediment, where we feel vulnerable. Raw. Ashamed. Exposed. To flaunt that particular deficiency--the one we are so aware of--and to allow God to use a weakness we've never seen Him use in us are much scarier situations than relying on Him for what we've already seen Him do.
Our Moses moments keep us from making the leap into the fullness of our calling. We want to see it before we believe it. We want to allow God to use the things that won't cost us anything if they fail. A rod bouncing on the floor without becoming a snake would provoke laughter. Using faltering lips with the claim to be the mouth of God to a pharaoh who thought himself to be god seemed more daunting.
But it wasn't.
Every act of God was just that. An act of God. Nothing Moses was called to do required his ability. Everything God asked of him required God's ability.
In like manner, whatever God calls us to do HE is sufficient to handle because it's HIS CALLING. It's time to take our eyes off of us and look to Him. He will complete anything that HE has begun if we will keep our faith connected to Him.
Eventually, Moses stepped into the role God intended and became the spokesperson for God and forever silenced the control his inadequacy had over his life. We, too, can silence Satan if we will only surrender our stutter to the Savior.
Tip/Tidbit: Do you have a weakness that you feel limits your ability to be all God has asked you to be? Isn't it comforting to know that God can use THAT, as well as every other area of your life, as a testimony of His glory?!
Most of us know the story of the burning bush. Moses, while shepherding his flock, noticed a fire burning a bush without consuming it. Curious, he went to investigate only to discover it was no ordinary fire. God was manifesting His presence to Moses so He could give him some incredible news. In the Rachel version, the story unfolded somewhat like this:
"Moses, I have a very special job for you to do. As you know, my people are in bondage. But I want to use YOU, YOU MOSES, to lead them to freedom. Now, this is not going to be something ordinary. I AM going to be with you." God clarified by giving Moses His name. I AM. The very present One. THE God. The One from whom Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had received the promised inheritance was choosing Moses. The time for the promise was unfolding!
Still, Moses needed reassurance, so God explained in great detail the victory ahead. Israel would plunder Egypt by the Egyptians' willingness to give them their gold, silver, and jewels. God would safely lead all His people to worship on the very mountain on which the bush burned.
"I'm going to do all these amazing exploits so that my people and all the land will know without a doubt that I alone am God."
Then, standing there, barefoot on holy ground, Moses was permitted to experience the miraculous. Scary things like snakes and leprosy were created--then eliminated--Just like Pharaoh would be. Exciting, huh!?
Except Moses was still caught up in his inadequacies.And if HE saw himself as inadequate, how in the world would Israelite leaders or the mighty pharaoh of Egypt perceive him as more than a stuttering, bumbling, want-to-be-leader?
It wasn't that Moses didn't believe GOD could do what He said. Moses simply thought he needed certain qualifications for the follow-through. Just a quick glance around would confirm that everyone else was more capable, more adequate than he.
Isn't that often the place where our faith in God disconnects?
We believe God's Word. We know HE is powerful. We can hold the miraculous. Experience the holy. Hear God's voice. And be willing to be used. IF. IF God will make us a more polished version of ourselves, one without deficiencies and blemishes and weaknesses.
"Lord," Moses said, "You may not have noticed this when you decided to pick me for the job, but I have his speech problem. You see, I had it before I even saw this bush. Now, I know that I've encountered your presence, that I've heard your voice, that I've performed some miracles with my staff and my hand, but my tongue... well, you see Lord, I STILL have this speech problem...."
So, God replies, "I will be with your mouth, Moses. I will tell you what to say."
"Lord, send whomever you want, but I can't speak..."
Ironic, wouldn't you say? The "whomever" God wanted to send as His spokesperson was Moses. But Moses didn't want God to use him to speak.
Sounds like some of our reasoning. We respond to the move of God only to begin withdrawing our faith in Him when we see that He wants to use our weaknesses. Throwing down our rod is okay because, well, that's just a symbol of a life we never planned to live anyway. Using our hands is fine too because service can be done in the background. After all, only God could transform the rod and heal leprosy. However, unlike his transformed rod and hand, Moses had yet to hear his voice change. And speaking? Well, that's was an altogether different matter.
We have a Moses affliction. It's that area we struggle with. Our handicap. Where we're different. It's that flaw that's often the object of others' ridicule. Like speaking, it's something we should be capable of doing. But we can't. It's that thing that looks so easy for everyone else, but it's oh so difficult for us. It's our impediment, where we feel vulnerable. Raw. Ashamed. Exposed. To flaunt that particular deficiency--the one we are so aware of--and to allow God to use a weakness we've never seen Him use in us are much scarier situations than relying on Him for what we've already seen Him do.
Our Moses moments keep us from making the leap into the fullness of our calling. We want to see it before we believe it. We want to allow God to use the things that won't cost us anything if they fail. A rod bouncing on the floor without becoming a snake would provoke laughter. Using faltering lips with the claim to be the mouth of God to a pharaoh who thought himself to be god seemed more daunting.
But it wasn't.
Every act of God was just that. An act of God. Nothing Moses was called to do required his ability. Everything God asked of him required God's ability.
In like manner, whatever God calls us to do HE is sufficient to handle because it's HIS CALLING. It's time to take our eyes off of us and look to Him. He will complete anything that HE has begun if we will keep our faith connected to Him.
Eventually, Moses stepped into the role God intended and became the spokesperson for God and forever silenced the control his inadequacy had over his life. We, too, can silence Satan if we will only surrender our stutter to the Savior.
Tip/Tidbit: Do you have a weakness that you feel limits your ability to be all God has asked you to be? Isn't it comforting to know that God can use THAT, as well as every other area of your life, as a testimony of His glory?!
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