When the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt, God chose the prophet Moses to speak to His people and to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. I encourage you to read this scripture for yourself, it’s found in Exodus, but I will quickly paraphrase some of it. 

Moses is immediately worried about how he will be perceived and tells God that he is a poor speaker, he doesn’t want to be the messenger. God reassures him but Moses is adamant that he should not be the one speaking. Because of this, God sends Aaron (his brother) with him to speak. God is not happy with Moses’ refusal. There is, of course, a lot more to the story but for the sake of this blog, I will focus on the part that got my wheels turning.

When Moses petitions that he is a nobody for this task, God responds, “I will be with you.”.

The conversation should end there, shouldn’t it?

1.       God asks us to do something

2.       We’re scared and unsure of our ability

3.       God says He will be with us

4.       We do what God asked

 Unfortunately, that often isn’t the case.

I believe that in the beginning, Moses displays a healthy amount of humility. He knows he is nobody special to do this work for the Lord. He isn’t expecting it; he doesn’t think he has earned it. But… God chose him. When that isn’t enough, Moses displays a lack of faith.

Where do you fall on this? Do you feel like you are capable in your own strength to achieve whatever is set before you? Do you only pursue something when you know you will succeed? I’ve been there. A fear of failure has devastated mountains of progress and opportunities for me. I think it has held me back in every single area of life, at different points. It has been my most difficult fear to overcome and quite possibly the root of a wide spectrum of problems. The antidote that I must consistently apply is faith and humility.

It is important to achieve a healthy, balanced perspective. God calls us to things because He is asking us to serve Him. In a way, we are helping Him by fulfilling His will and plan. If we do not, He has other people to ask but we miss out on His blessings, spiritual and personal growth, and obedience. It’s good to know that we aren’t anyone special for the job, but that God has chosen us especially.

Something that strikes me as a touch comical and definitely relatable is that in this scripture we see Moses is still speaking, just only to his brother Aaron. He must perceive it as a less intimidating task, rightfully so, but he really is doing what God asked – on a smaller scale. He is far more capable than he perceives, because God is with him.

Exodus 4:11-12 The LORD said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”

Partly, we should feel the way Moses feels, “who am I?” But we must also remember God says “I will be with you”. In our strength we have great limitations but with God, we can move mountains.