So Moses goes to see the burning bush. God tells him that He has seen the affliction of the Israelites and wants to send him (Moses) to Pharaoh to tell him to let the Israelites go.
Moses is looking at a bush that burns but does not get burnt, he is listening to the direct, audible voice of God and his response is: “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11)
God responds by telling Moses that one day he and his people will be living it up in the land of milk and honey. All he has to do is do is trust in the power of the living God.
But Moses responds by saying : “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” (Exodus 4:1)
So God gives him three miracles to perform, he can throw a wooden staff on the ground and it becomes a snake, he can take water from the river Nile and turn it to blood and he can make his hand go completely white and then be transformed back again.
But Moses wasn’t focused on God and his power. Moses was focused on himself and his insufficiencies. Thus he said: “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”
11 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? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”
13 But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.” (Exodus 4:10 – 13)
One would think that Moses would have got the message by now! Didn’t he see that God was on his side? Didn’t he understand that God was powerful enough to do what needed to be done?
Gideon was also so focused on himself that he couldn’t see that it was God who would give the victory. That’s why: Judges 6:12 When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”
When the angel told Gideon to go and save his people, his response was Judges 6:15 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”
Later, when Gideon was preparing his army, God made sure to drive the lesson home. The lesson that it is not you but God that wins the victory. That is why he made Gideon reduce his army to just 300.
David got the right perspective. He took 5 small stones and a mighty God and defeated a mighty foe.
What about today’s Christians? I think most of us are in churches talking about how to live right. I think we are praying for strength so we are not so miserable and insufficient when we should be worshipping God for how strong and sufficient He is. If we switch our perspective from our lack to His sufficiency, maybe He will be able to truly use us as He desires and promises.
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