Day 36

“He is not calling him and her and them; He is calling you to make a difference in this world for Him.”

Moses had been through a lot in his life. He was strategically abandoned as a baby, and yet he was miraculously rescued by a princess. He grew up as a child of extreme privilege, and yet in his heart he knew he was one with the Hebrew slaves. He had incredible opportunity, and yet he had incredible emptiness. In response to the beating of a Hebrew brother, Moses murdered the Egyptian abuser. Moses, who was rescued out of the Nile as an infant, is now forced to flee for his life into the land of Midian. Moses lived in Midian for 40 years. He married, he became a father, and this once child of the great Pharaoh became an ordinary shepherd in a foreign land. One day, this ordinary shepherd had an extraordinary encounter. This man, who was once a child of Pharaoh, came face to face with the reality that he was in actuality a child of the Living God. Moses met God on Mt. Horeb, and God called Moses to go to Egypt to set His people free.

It is not every day that one meets God in a burning bush, not every day that one stands on the holiest of ground, but it might be every day that you and I do what Moses did next. Moses waffled, Moses back peddled, and Moses tried to do everything he could to get out of doing what God had called him to do. Exodus 3:11-4:17 tells the story of Moses’ reluctance to follow God’s call.

First, Moses questioned if God had the right person (3:11). What Moses felt on Mt. Horeb might be similar to what Peter felt by the Sea of Galilee right after Jesus taught him how to really catch fish. (Luke 5:1-8) Jesus had used Peter’s boat to stand in as he talked to the crowds, and then in the middle of the day, Jesus sent these hardened, experienced fishermen out onto the lake. They knew that you couldn’t catch fish in the heat of the day. They knew no fish were to be caught at that depth and location. Sure enough as Peter and his friends cast the nets into the water, the nets began to come alive with fish. So many fish were in their nets that the nets began to tear and the boats began to sink. When Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Depart from me Lord for I am a sinful man” (Luke 5:8b). Translated into Moses’ jargon, “Jesus, I don’t think you’ve got the right guy.” If you, like me, are one of those persons who doubts whether God could ever use you and who has full confidence that He could use someone else better, hear this foundational principle: “God doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called.”

Second, Moses questioned the very credentials of God, Himself (3:13). Moses is really asking God to both identify and verify His essential character. Now while most of us don’t go around with a God-sized stethoscope checking out the nature and condition of God, we do often find ourselves in places of wondering if God really is Jehovah Shamah, the God who is present in our lives? Is God really Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides for our needs? Is God really Jehovah Nissi, the God who is our banner protecting us and covering us in his love? Is God really Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals us? Is God really a God of grace who passionately pursues a relationship with us even when we have ignored and abandoned Him? While such questioning and struggling with God is part and parcel of a deepening intimacy with Him and while such doubt can lead to a more authentic faith, a lack of trusting in the nature and character of God, a refusal to trust in Him rather than in oneself, can result in a paralyzed and empty life.

 

Third, Moses questioned God’s strategy and authority (4:1). Moses had lived in Egypt; Moses personally knew Pharaoh; Moses understood Pharaoh’s leadership style; Moses knew from experience how things worked and didn’t work down in Egypt. He knew that the Egyptian leaders would never believe him, and that they would never heed his command. Moses had learned his lesson in the school of hard knocks, and he knew that he didn’t have a chance up against Pharaoh. Moses is a lot like us. He was basing his expectation of the future on his experience in the past. Do you ever do that? When we lived in Louisiana, I was out mowing my grass one day, when I got stung by a big ole orange wasp. It got me right in the back of the head; I never saw him coming. After that, I was always a little leery about even walking by the nest which was under my shingles over the garage. It’s natural for our brains to define our current reality based upon our experience of reality. It was natural for me to feel a little shudder every time I get out of our van by the grarage or took out the trash because both of these required me to walk directly under the wasps, but I cannot let my past experience control my present and future reality and neither can you. I can hear some of you shouting at your book: “Andy, just get rid of the wasps and then you can do what you need to do.” I also can hear God clearly speaking, “Andy, give me your past, and then I’ll take care of your present and your future.” Moses had a choice of trusting in what he knew about Egypt or trusting in what he knew about God.

Fourth, Moses questioned his abilities to lead because of his weaknesses (4:10). Moses saw his lack of eloquence and his s … t. . .u.. . .t. . .t.. . .e. . .r…i…n..g as obstacles to carrying out God’s purposes. Almost as if he saw God conducting the ultimate job interview, he saw himself as falling woefully short of being what God really needed to accomplish His will. God, however, is not looking for great ability but great availability. God isn’t looking for those with perfect credentials but rather for those with willing hearts. The Apostle Paul began to fully understand and teach that “My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Ultimately, God was not looking for a great deliverer in Moses, but he desired to be the Great Deliverer for Moses and for all of Israel. Your weakness is not your enemy, and your seeming obstacles are but opportunities for his grace.

Fifth, Moses finally just begged God, “Please Lord, just send someone else to do it” (4:13). The truth is God wanted Moses to go. The truth is God wants you and me to go. He is not calling some of us, but all of us into ministry. He is not calling him and her and them; He is calling you to make a difference in this world for Him.

May God’s grace work in us to overcome our reluctance and thus free us to set others free.

Grace Point: God doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called!

Grace Truth: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”

2 Corinthians 12:9

Grace Question: What’s holding you back from saying “Yes” to Christ’s call?