PRAYER OF CONSECRATION
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Jesus, I belong to you.
I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice.
Jesus, we belong to you.
Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
Exodus 4:10–17
Moses said to the Lord, “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.”
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.”
But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”
Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. But take this staff in your hand so you can perform the signs with it.”
CONSIDER THIS
Meanwhile back at the unburning bush, as the details unfold, Moses begins to see more reasons for why this might not be a good idea.
Moses said to the Lord, “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.”
What gave Moses the idea that God needed a silver-tongued preacher? Why is it that we tend to make the calling of God about our own qualifications or lack thereof? Do we think God is somehow not aware of our foibles, weaknesses, and incompetencies? What if God calls us into a particular assignment precisely because of our foibles, weaknesses, and incompetencies?
What if God is looking for people who have been broken enough by life and mended enough by mercy that they know they are hopeless without God; that they can do nothing apart from Jesus? Isn’t this the whole point of 2 Corinthians 4:7? “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”
Does Moses really think the secret sauce of his success in delivering the Israelites from the most powerful person on the planet is his eloquence of speech? Seems like Paul had something to say about eloquence now that I think about it:
And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power. (1 Cor. 2:1–5)
God does not need our talent, skills, or abilities to accomplish his will in the world. He can use them, but he doesn’t need them. The only thing God needs from us is our availability, faithfulness, and teachability. God is good even in the face of our worst moments. Look how he responds to Moses:
“Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”
Indulge my translation in the form of an overused cliché: “God doesn’t call the equipped. He equips the called.” I want us to feel this word from the Lord today. It is full of tender compassion and intimate care:
“Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”
I don’t know about you, but I need to hear that today on quite a lot of fronts in my life. Can we focus on just this part? Now go; I will help you.
To hear, “I will be with you,” is good, but God is even better than that. He says, “I will help you.” Flash-forward centuries later and hear what God is saying to his people through the prophet Isaiah: “For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you” (Isa. 41:13).
Christian, you have a God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, “Do not fear; I will help you.” Look at your right hand—right now—and fathom this truth. Speak it aloud so your ears can hear it: “For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you” (Isa. 41:13).
Still, after all God’s patient coaxing, Moses (in what feels like his best British accent) says it’s a hard pass:
But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”
But, don’t we see ourselves in good ol’ Moe? When it comes to the weighty matter of God’s calling on our lives (and he calls us all), our insufficiency is a given. Now hear this: God’s calling is about God’s sufficiency, not our insufficiency. Okay, once again, and this time with feeling: God’s calling is about God’s sufficiency, not our insufficiency. Maybe the most important two words in the whole exchange today are these two: “Now go.” It is as though God is saying, “Just take the first step.” That’s always the hardest one, isn’t it?
Feel God’s hand take yours. And get up. No, you don’t know where you are going. No, you don’t know how to get there. No, you don’t know what you will do when you get there. No, you don’t really have a plan. You’ve got God. Even better—God’s got you. You hear him say:
Now go; I will help you.
THE PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE
Lord Jesus, my Deliverer.
Exodus. I hear you saying it. It is a whisper today and yet it is a word—the word.
I receive it. And as you decree it, I too will declare it, even as a whisper today: exodus.
I receive your deliverance from focusing on my sufficiency or on my insufficiency. You are delivering me into focusing on your sufficiency. But even more, you are delivering me into the wakeful realization that you are holding my right hand—and that you are helping me. Knowing that I’m going to just go with you.
Forgive me for making your calling about myself; for thinking you somehow need my gifts to accomplish your will or, worse, for thinking my lack of giftedness could somehow impede your work. Give me the grace to understand that when you call me you know what you are doing. Train my spirit to be available, faithful, and teachable.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end, amen! Amen!
THE JOURNAL PROMPTS
Do you have a real, felt, and regular experience of God with you, holding your right hand, and helping you? It’s okay if you don’t. What’s important is to become honest about where you actually are and to move toward God from there. Let your hunger for God become honest before him. Now on another front, how will you begin to make the transition in relating to God not according to your insufficiency but according to his sufficiency?
THE HYMN
Today we will sing “I Need Thee Every Hour” (hymn 340) from our Seedbed hymnal, Our Great Redeemer’s Praise. Get your copy here.
For the Awakening,
J. D. Walt
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8 Responses
The first step in response to God’s calling: OBEDIENCE. Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,……. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Seems like I’ve heard these words somewhere before.
Matthew 19:26
But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
This dialog between Moses and God demonstrates the spirit of fear in Moses that God didn’t give Him (2 Timothy 1:7), and God’s purpose. We see the epitome of spiritual warfare in our souls- fear versus faith.
Interestingly enough God didn’t give Moses a rah, rah speech. “You can do it, you can do it, just put your mind to it!” God threw His hand up and decided the best approach was to give grace and support Moses’ lack of confidence by having his brother accompany him- God uses His people to help His people.
God sent two instead of one (Jesus did the same when He sent His disciples out.) Three went counting Himself.
Henry Ford was once quoted as saying, “If you think you can or think you can’t. you’re right.”
Moses said he couldn’t.
God said, “With me all things are possible”.
He says the same with us.
Staying 💪’n Christ
Doc
Ephesians 6:10
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.
I love Isaiah 41:13 and the idea of God taking hold of us by our right hand. But just a few verses before that, in verse 10 , God says “I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” which gives me the image that God is face to face with us when God is holding our right hand with His righteous right hand! When you hold someone’s right hand with your right hand, you have to face them!! Such a beautiful picture of God seeing us and holding us with His hand!
Now go! Go through your daily life with never-ending conscious awareness of God, refusing to be distracted from Him! It’s easy to walk away from a time of prayer, a Bible study, a devotional, or a church service and leave your short-term focus on God behind. It’s easy to feel good about having done your religious duty and then to put God on the shelf until tomorrow, or next week, or next religious activity.
If you like to set God aside for a while and go do what you want to do, you’re overlooking the all-consuming inner fire that He is. You’re missing out on fully experiencing Christ in you the incredible hope of glory who ever flows from deep within as rivers of living water. You’re not remembering to continually taste and see that the Lord is good. You’re neglecting to always rejoice in the Lord with joy unspeakable and full of glory. You’re forgetting to abide steadfastly in His presence and peace that passes understanding. You’re avoiding praying without ceasing. You’re trying to satisfy your inner hungering and thirsting with something or someone other than the presence and power of the risen Jesus.
Jump into the inner rivers of the Spirit and be continually swept away from self-focus. Ever stir up the heart-fire of the inner presence of the living Jesus. Continually surrender to, adore, and interact with Christ in you. Be mended moment by moment by His mercy and ever surprised by His joy!
WOW! How many times a day do I “set God aside” instead of having Him join me.
How many of His blessings do I miss each day? Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much for singing the Gloria Patri with the written notes. I appreciate it so.
Thanks so much God gets my day going through the seedbed it keeps me focused on Him and knowing he’s in control and don’t worry talk to God he gets you through everything! Thanks for keeping us focused on God through the seedbed series JD Many Blessings!
A another fantastic WakeUp call today JD