- Responding to the Call of God
- Just Who Are You?
- Two Final Excuses
- No More Excuses
God is still talking to Moses at the burning bush (see previous posts here and here), calling him to be the man who leads the people of Israel out of Egyptian slavery. And Moses is still giving God excuses as to why he can’t do what God is leading him to do. As far as Moses is concerned, God has made a mistake here. He’s got the wrong guy.
Here’s what Moses says next:
But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” (Exodus 4:10)
He’s basically saying, “God, you may not know this, but speaking in front of people is just not my thing.”
Some people talk too much without saying anything. Someone once placed a stickie note on the button of a restroom’s hot air hand dryer that read, “Press here for a word from the boss.”
Then some people aren’t comfortable, or have a real fear, of speaking publicly. I’ve had that issue for as long as I remember. I’ve never spoken in front of a group of people of any size without being afraid…and completely dependent on God.
When I accepted my first position in the ministry, it was with the understanding that I didn’t preach. One day I went to my pastor, Clark Hutchinson, to share with him some possible sermon topics for an upcoming event. We were wrapping up our annual children’s summer Vacation Bible School, and we had invited the parents to come to a special service the next Sunday night. I said, “The topic for the children all week has been faith, so it would be great for the sermon that night to be about faith.” Clark’s response was, “Great, I’m sure you’ll do a fine job.”
That wasn’t how this conversation was supposed to go. I replied, “Oh, my Pastor, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” Well, that isn’t exactly what I said, but you get the point.
That sermon was my very first. It was also probably not very good, but there are times when we simply have to trust God and let him handle the results. That’s a lesson Moses would soon learn.
Here is God’s reply:
Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” (Exodus 4:11-12)
God made Moses’ mouth. And if God can make a mouth work, shouldn’t He be able to make it work well?
God has given you abilities, talents, and gifts, and he is perfectly capable of guiding you as you use whatever he gives you to do whatever he’s called you to do. When you say to God, “I can’t,” then you won’t. But when you say to God, “I can’t without you, but I’m willing to obey and trust you,” then God can do amazing things through you. God’s Spirit within you will empower you to do anything God leads you to do, without exception.
And guess what? Sometimes you can follow God and do exactly what he says, and, at least as the world judges success and failure, you’ll fail. But it’s impossible to truly fail if you are obeying God and trusting all the results to him. You may not see the results this side of heaven, but God knows.
(Here’s a shout out to you, Clark, my pastor, my mentor, my friend who is much more like family. I can never thank God enough for you and your influence on my life and on the life of my family, and I love and appreciate you so much.)
Moses, though, still doesn’t get it, so he finally says what’s been on his mind from the beginning. He just doesn’t want to do this.
But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” (Exodus 4:13)
Isn’t a job always easier to do when someone else does it? Moses is being stubborn at this point. He’s offered excuse after excuse, and God has answered each one. But still, Moses resists. God gets a little angry with Moses, not because Moses thought so little of his ability, but because of his lack of faith in God’s ability. I wonder how many times I’ve done the same thing to God.
God’s response, however, is not one of condemnation, but one of grace. God shows mercy on Moses by bringing his brother Aaron into the picture.
Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. (Exodus 4:14)
Moses could speak just fine. What he needed was the encouragement of having someone alongside him to help him as he faced down Pharaoh. As the story moves along, we can see that the more Moses grows in courage and faith, the less he relies on Aaron to speak.
Here are a couple of questions for you: Have you ever asked God to bring someone alongside you? It could be that you don’t have that someone because you haven’t asked.
Have you ever asked God to show you someone He wants you to come alongside? Perhaps there is someone who needs the encouragement that you can give. Would you be willing to help and support someone, even though you know they’ll end up being the hero in the story?
Who is your Aaron, and to whom are you being an Aaron?