How Do I Prove It?

Primary Text for the next two weeks: Exodus 3:1 – 12:32

As we continue our series, let us examine the second excuse of Moses. (Again, I would encourage you to read the entire text during this week and again during next week.)

Exodus 3:13 (NIV) Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”

While I am certain there are more scholarly opinions than mine; to me, this is the modern day fear of responding to someone else’s criticism. What if someone asks what I’m doing? What if someone challenges me? What if someone says, ‘Who do you think you are?’ How do I prove it? It is hard for me to believe Moses ever doubted God’s capabilities; after all, he had just been introduced to God through the anomaly of a burning bush that was never consumed. Rather, I think Moses doubted himself and his own abilities. I think Moses wanted God to give him a backup plan ‘just in case’.

Do we ever find ourselves offering similar excuses today? It is one thing if we decline an opportunity because we are already engaged in prior commitments or acts of service. It is another if we decline simply out of self-generated fears, self-doubt, or hesitations. How did God respond to Moses, and is this not how God still responds to us?

Exodus 3:14, 15b (NIV) God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ... This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.

By way of example, please allow me to share a personal moment. I believe with all my heart that God has given me skill and ability as a writer. When God prompts my heart to use the gift he has given me, I do not worry about criticisms or challenges that I might incur. But that is now. When I first began writing, my heart was flooded with self-doubt and hesitations... What if people don’t think it’s interesting? What if people think I don’t know what I’m talking about? What if I don’t use the right scriptures, or worse, what if I use scripture incorrectly? Through the years I have come to understand that if God is tugging at your heart or presenting you with opportunities... He is already well aware of your insecurities, and He stands with you ready to guide you. God – the very same I AM who always was, is, and always will be – is waiting for you to respond.

 

Heavenly Father, our Lord God;

If we are honest, too many times we resist responding to the opportunities you give us for service in your Name. We stand with Moses full of excuses. Yet you are the Lord God Almighty, and you are the One who wipes away our insecurities, the One who provides strength and courage to complete each task you assign. Create in us a willingness to respond.

In the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

The devotional How Do I Prove It? appeared first on Write From My Heart at https://writefrommyheartblog.blogspot.com 

Email: Dotty Willmon, writefrommyheartblog@gmail.com

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version^®, NIV^®, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.^® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.