Talk about a guy who messed up his life: Moses really blew it big time. Taken into the court of Pharaoh and trained, presumably, to be the next Pharaoh of Egypt, he knew this was not the life he wanted to live. Being a Jew, he wanted to help his fellow Jews get out of the bondage of Egypt. He sensed destiny early on and he had the right idea, but he certainly went about it in the wrong way.
He killed an Egyptian taskmaster who was cruelly beating a slave. The Pharaoh found out and effectively put a contract out on the life of Moses. So Moses has now gone from being the Prince of Egypt to being a fugitive from Egypt. He lives in the wilderness for 40 years and now the Lord comes and speaks to the 80-year-old Moses, commissioning him to lead the Hebrews out of slavery. But Moses offers excuses.
Practical Principles
- Excuse number one: Moses effectively says, “I’m not deserving to be used by God.” Exodus 3:11, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh?” But God is not looking for ability; He’s looking for availability. God does not call the qualified; He qualifies the called.
- Number two: Moses effectively says, “But I don’t have all the answers.” God effectively responds, “Moses, it’s not about you. It’s about Me.” Sometimes we’re afraid to share our faith because we think a nonbeliever might ask us a question we don’t have the answer to. We need to just proclaim the gospel and it will do its work because God’s Word is alive and powerful.
- Excuse number three: “The people won’t believe me.” Moses protested again. “Look, they won’t believe me. They won’t do what I tell them. They’ll just say the Lord never appeared to me.” The Lord has Moses grab a snake by the tail as a symbol to face his fears.
Relevant Reminders
- As a Christian, your life has purpose. God has allowed you to go through all that you’ve gone through to mold you into the man or woman that He wants you to be. You have something to offer. You have something to do. So get out of your La-Z-Boy and find out what God’s plan is for you
- Sometimes things happen in our lives that are out of the ordinary to get our attention.
- What may seem to you like a coincidence is actually providence, and what you may perceive as an interruption may be an intervention.
Applicable Actions
You might be going through something that makes no sense to you right now. You’re asking, “Why am I going through this trial at this stage of my life? Why am I having to learn this lesson? Why am I facing this hardship? Why am I living in obscurity? Why?”
Because God is molding you into the man or woman He wants you to be.
