The last thing I ever wanted to do was become a public speaker. But God had me do a little here and a little there, and eventually I began to enjoy it.
Then I finally said, “All right, Lord. I’m willing to do whatever you want me to do.”
When we say things like that to God, he takes it very seriously. Soon doors started opening, and the next thing I knew, God was taking me well out of my comfort zone to a place of dependence on him.
The Bible says that “in his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well” (Romans 12:6 nlt). God has given each of us gifts with which we can glorify him. We all have certain talents, certain abilities. And we are to use them. We are to serve him with our gifts.
Yet someone might say, “God could never use me. I’ve made too many mistakes in my life. I’m just not qualified.”
However, as we look in the pages of Scripture at the people God used, we find some rather flawed individuals.
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Noah, for example, was a great man of God, but we know that he got drunk. Jacob was a liar. Rahab was a prostitute. Gideon was afraid. David had an affair and had someone murdered. Jonah ran from God. The disciples fell asleep when they were supposed to be praying. And Peter denied Christ.
So don’t think that God couldn’t use someone like you.
That is what Moses thought. And when God called on him to lead the Hebrew people out of Egypt, he made plenty of excuses. Moses was a Hebrew, and times were hard for the Hebrew people in Egypt. Moses, however, had fled to Midian because he killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew slave.
Certainly, God hadn’t told Moses to do this. God wants us to do his will, in his way and in his timing. But Moses wasn’t willing to do that. As a result, he ended up losing his home, his possessions, his people and his reputation. But he hadn’t lost God.
Soon after Moses arrived in Midian, he met the priest of Midian, married one of his daughters and became a shepherd. Then he faded into complete obscurity for 40 long years. That is, until he came across a bush in the desert that wouldn’t stop burning.
We read about his experience in Exodus: “‘Do not come any closer,’ the Lord warned. ‘Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. I am the God of your father – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God” (3:5–6 NLT).
God then told Moses that he’d seen the suffering of his people, and he was appointing Moses to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt.
Moses was stunned, to say the least.
I find it interesting how God used something out of the ordinary to get Moses’ attention. I’ve come to pay attention to those out-of-the-ordinary changes and plans that God allows in my life, because it may mean that he’s trying to speak to me.
What may seem like a coincidence is actually Providence. What may seem like a disappointment could be God’s appointment in my life to accomplish a purpose.
Moses was 80 years old when God spoke to him through the burning bush. He was seasoned. He was wiser. And unbeknownst to him, God had been preparing him all along for the task at hand.
Notice that God said to him, “I am the God of your father – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Each of these men, though they were men of God, were seriously flawed. Abraham was godly but had lapses of faith. Isaac was biased and didn’t always listen to the Lord. And Jacob’s mistakes and deception were legendary.
The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the God of many who have failed. He is the God of ordinary people who have accomplished extraordinary things. He is the God of second chances.
Moses, however, didn’t feel like he was up for the task. So, he offered a series of excuses to God as to why he wasn’t qualified.
One of the best definitions I’ve heard for the word “excuse” is “the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie.” An excuse is something we offer when we don’t want to do something, not because we can’t do something.
God has called every follower of Jesus to represent him and to bring the Gospel to our generation. He has called all of us to use the gifts that he has given us. But so often we say, “Lord, you can’t use me. I’m not qualified. I don’t have the ability to speak. I don’t have all the answers.”
That is pretty much what Moses said.
There are many, many times that I feel this way when I get up to speak. I think, “I don’t know that I’m the one to do this.” At the same time, I have great confidence in God. And I have great confidence in the message that I’m sharing.
If God has called you to do something, then he will enable you. As I’ve often said, the calling of God is the enabling of God.
On the other hand, to not respond to God and to be unwilling to be used by him can potentially be a sin. There are sins of commission and omission. A sin of commission is doing what we shouldn’t do. And a sin of omission is not doing what we should do.
God has commanded us as Christians to be his ambassadors. And just as God was with Moses, he will be with us.
God has a plan for us. God has a purpose for us. He has a destiny for us to fulfill. Therefore, it is time for each of us to say, “Lord, I’m willing. I’m available.”
Would you do that today?
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