Do you ever have days you wonder why God sent you?
You doubt in the dark what you knew in the light?
Questions about whether we are making an impact set in.
As you contemplate your next big endeavor, you feel like saying…
“Please, Not Me!”
You are in good company.
This is exactly the same response Moses had when God told him His plan of setting Israel free from slavery in Egypt.
When Moses was called, his response was less than stellar.
“Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’ (Exodus 4:1)
So God gives him some visual aids to convince the Egyptians (and Moses himself). He turned his staff to a snake and his hand leprous. God went so far as to even promise a future sign of the Nile turning to blood. All this is follows the calling at the burning bush!
What more do you need, Mo?
“They will not believe me or listen to my voice,”
Moses is the picture of reluctance.
“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 am slow of speech and of tongue.” 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.” But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” (Exodus 4:10-13)
Moses reminds God of his lack of qualifications.
He lists the reasons he cannot communicate to rulers of nations.
Should the exit appear, Moses is ready to head towards it.
“Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.”
God reminds Moses who is in charge.
How many times do we feel as if we can not communicate well enough for the job?
After hours and hours of language class, do we feel like God sent the wrong person?
Upon giving yet another unproductive message, do we question our ability to speak in terms which change hearts and minds?
Perhaps Moses was struggling with unworthiness or guilt from his past. He did kill a man after all.
God doesn’t give Moses an exit plan, he holds him to it.
He does provide Moses with strategies, a partner in action, and more direction in accomplishing the mission.
Feeling overwhelmed or resistant is not reason for disqualification.
Rather, it puts you in good company.
God seems to like reluctant leaders. Moses, as he walked through his resistance, became one of the greatest leaders the world has ever seen, leading a million people out of slavery.
This is especially true when God is calling us to something bigger than ourselves and our own abilities.
People who would be tempted to say “send someone else”, will tend to rely on God more than an over-confident, self-reliant individual.
Reluctance in leadership or in mission is often a sign we are in the right place! It means we realize the enormity of the task.
Photo By Dominik Martin
