As you know, I try to make sure that the focus of our mid-week study is almost always on prayer. My reading this week took me to book of Exodus chapters 3 & 4 where God meets with Moses while he is tending sheep. God meets Moses where he is at on the hillside in the form of a burning bush that was not consumed. As Moses makes his way to check it out, God calls to him: “Moses, Moses.” What would you have done? Moses’ response was “Here I am” (3:4) and he and God have a conversation. Was Moses excited to hear from God or was he frightened? Maybe a little of both? God gives Moses His plan for the Israelites and I am sure that Moses’ heart began to race as he heard what God had to say. God had not forgotten the Israelites. Moses has been gone and in hiding for 40 years and probably thought that God had forgotten all about them, but not so.
Moses must have been excited until God said “I am sending you to Pharaoh…” This is when the excuses begin. “Who am I?” What if they say who is this God? “What is His name?” (3:13) God what do I do? God gives Moses answers to all of his questions and then goes on to tell him what is actually going to happen. God tells him that they will be released and that they will also plunder the Egyptians. Is that enough? Did God cover everything for you Moses? Evidently not. “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say ‘The Lord did not appear to you?'” (4:1) God, what if I fail? God’s word and promises were not enough for Moses. He really did not want to do this so he asks for more proof, and God gives that to him. Surely, that was enough? Nope!
God, I am not gifted. I cannot do it. “I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since You have spoken to your servant, I am slow of speech and tongue.” (4:10) God reminds Moses that He is the One who gave Moses his mouth, ears, and eyes and He was also the One who would go with him to help him speak and give him the words to say. Moses was out of excuses and finally says: “O Lord, please send someone else to do it.” (4:13)
You might think to yourself, what is wrong with Moses? God was talking directly to him! God wanted to use him! God was going to go with him and even put the words in his mouth! God assured him of victory! What is wrong with Moses??? Be careful! How do we differ from Moses? Moses was communicating with God and we call that prayer. God was communicating with Moses and we call that the Word of God. God wanted to use Moses and He desires to use us too. He has given us the command to go into all the world and preach and teach the Gospel. We are to make disciples and that requires effort and a willingness to invest in other people. When Jesus gave us the great commission He promised that He would always be with us. This past Sunday we talked about the promises of God and the assurance of heaven. In the end, we win! We will be with Jesus and it will be the ultimate.
Moses talked with God and he told Him of his concerns and reasons why he could not do what God was telling him to do. I want to encourage you to let God know how you feel. Tell Him about your concerns and fears. Tell Him why you cannot do it. Pray!
Don’t be afraid to pray. But then you need to have your Bible in hand and ask God to speak to you. Ask Him to reveal His will and purposes in His Word. Read your Bible! Ask for help in reading your Bible. We are no different than Moses in many ways. The sad thing is that many of us do not even take the time to pray and read the Bible, and yet we are expecting things to be different. We live in fear. We wonder what God is doing but we never even bother to check out the burning bush that does not burn. Check out the bush! Pray and read the Word. I promise you that God will make Himself known to you in a very special way.