Hello, My Name is Moses

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 I 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

Anyone ever felt like Moses before?

(My hand slowly raises.)

In the past has God called you to do something, and you think of every reason not to do it?

(My other hand slowly raises.)

Perhaps God is calling you right now to do something, and you are telling Him (and yourself) every reason why you can’t do it?

Gulp. I’ve run out of hands to raise.

Confession: I’m in that kind of season right now.

You see, in January, I felt for the first time God calling me to write a book and share my story of motherhood. Specifically, I feel called to share my roller coaster journey of infertility, fostering, adopting, losing a child, and nearly losing another child to a life-threatening illness. He’s put on my heart to share what He has taught me, how He’s grown me, and how He’s helping me navigate this life-long burden of grieving.

But like Moses, I have given God every reason not to write and publish my book.

I’m not a writer.

No one will read my book.

It won’t make any difference if I write this book or if I don’t write it.

What if I can’t find a publisher who will publish it?

Forget publishing it-can I even finish it with how crazy busy life is right now?

God in His grace has been helping me work through these doubts and fears, especially through the counsel and wisdom of my husband. But still, these thoughts haunt me.

They shut me down by making me feel like this is a dumb idea and I’m going to fail. They shut me up so that I’m hesitant to even put the pen to the paper. And they shut me out by crowding out the call of God’s voice so that I’m not hearing truth but only lies.

And then, BOOM.

I’m reading Exodus 3-4 a few days ago, and I realize how much I identify with Moses and all of his doubts, fears, and hesitations.

In chapter 3 God calls Moses to lead God’s people out of Egypt and thus continue God’s grand story of redemption. Sounds like an amazing thing to be a part of, right? I bet Moses was jumping up and down with excitement, right?

Wrong.

Moses gives God objection after objection of why he isn’t the right guy for the job. But each and every one of Moses’ objections to the Lord are met with truth-filled reminders from the Lord. Let’s look at each objection and response from Exodus 3 and 4, and may we be encouraged to pursue God’s call on our own lives despite how we think or feel about it.

Objection 1: Moses forgets who God made him to be.

“But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?’” Exodus 3:9-11

Moses forgets that God has made him uniquely for this moment in history. This moment of redemption had been planned long before Moses was born, and God made Moses to be the person who would ultimately lead the Israelites out of slavery.

Listen to how God responds to Moses in verse 12: “He said, ‘But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.'”

God reminds Moses that he will be with him, and he gives Moses a glimpse of what is to come.

So let me ask you-do you struggle to believe that God has made you specifically for the call He has on your life? Maybe you doubt that God really has called you. Maybe you doubt His plan for you.

My friend, in those moments of doubt, take God’s words to heart: he will be with you. He has sent you, and he will not abandon you.

Objection 2: Moses doubts that others will receive him well.

“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

Moses knew that his word alone would likely not convince God’s people to follow him. I mean, they thought God had abandoned him so who was this Moses fellow to tell them otherwise?

The problem, though, is that Moses is more concerned about others’ reception of him than God’s calling on him.

Ouch.

If I’m being honest, fear of man and what others think of me concerns me way too much as well. I’m consumed with what I think others think of me. This leads to greater fear and insecurity to do what God has called me to do.

So how does God respond to Moses?

He gives Moses signs to do to convince his audience that God really was the One to send him. God defies natural laws and gives Moses supernatural abilities to prove himself.

In much the same way, God goes before us and helps others to receive us well. If we ask Him, he will give us the right words to say and soften others’ hearts.

Be encouraged, though, that even if others don’t receive our dreams and plans well, if God has truly called us to something, He will make a way for it to happen. “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (Exodus 14:14) If your hopes and plans are being met with resistance, press into the Lord and press on in faith, pursuing that which God has called you to.

Objection 3: Moses doubts his abilities.

Exodus 4:10 says, “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 I am slow of speech and of tongue.'”

Moses is basically saying, “I know you’ve called me to speak in front of your people, Lord, but if you haven’t noticed, I’m not a great speaker. You’ve got the wrong guy if you were trying to pick a gifted orator.”

I just love what God says in response.

Verses 11 says, “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.’”

Mic drop.

With only a few words, the Lord reminds Moses Who made him (and everyone else for that matter) and Who will equip him.

He affirms that He will be with Moses so Moses has nothing to fear. Moses can have confidence that the Lord will give him everything he needs to be successful.

Do you need to be reminded that God has uniquely gifted you for the calling he has on your life? Do you struggle like I do with feelings that you don’t measure up and that you’re not cut out for this calling?

Take heart that if God has called you to something, He has given you gifts and abilities to do all that He’s called you to. Whatever you seemingly lack, you can be confident that God will fill in your gaps.

Objection 4: Moses wants to give up before he even gets started.

Exodus 4:13 “But he said, ‘Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.'”

After all of Moses’ objections and God’s encouragements, Moses begs God to just send someone else. He’s saying to the Lord. “God, just go ahead and call someone else to help redeem Israel ‘cuz it ain’t me.”

And then, for the first time in this passage, we see God get angry. He’s been giving Moses gentle encouragement, but now, His anger is stirred up against Moses.

Verses 14-15 say, “Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, ‘Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do.'”

The Lord shows Moses grace by sending his brother Aaron to be Moses’ mouthpiece. The Lord will give both of them the words to say and will instruct them in exactly what to do.

Notice, though, that God doesn’t give Moses a way out. God has still given this specific calling to Moses, and while God is providing support for him, He’s not altogether abandoning His plan. He is providing grace to Moses through his brother, and ultimately His plan will be fulfilled.

Look with me at verses 28-31 to see how this passage ends: “And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which he had sent him to speak, and all the signs that he had commanded him to do. Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. Aaron spoke all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people. And the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.”

Moses did what God told him. Aaron did what Moses told him. And above all, GOD did what He Himself said He would do!!

Maybe you feel like giving up. Maybe you’re telling God, “Not me, Lord. Please don’t choose me.” Maybe you want to walk away before the journey even starts.

If that’s you, remember that God will accomplish what He has called us to do if we trust Him and allow Him to work through us. We need not be consumed by our fears, doubts, and anxieties. God is quick to give us all that we need to do everything He has called us to.

Trust God. Trust His calling on your life. And walk faithfully in it.

Pressing on (and writing) in faith, Jennifer