Verse of the day: Exodus
6:12 And Moses spoke before the Lord, saying, “The children of Israel have not heeded me. How
then shall Pharaoh heed me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?”
Once
again we hear Moses’ objection to being sent to speak to Pharaoh? Why was he
still insisting in using his inability to speak eloquently as an excuse to
avoid his God-given charge? In his first attempt, God answered his objection by
sending Aaron with him to be his mouthpiece. Was this motivated by a fear of
Pharaoh? I do not believe this was the case at all, as he had already gone
before Pharaoh once before. Moses’ fear was more a fear of failure. How often
have we felt, and known, that God had called us to minister in some way, or
presented us with an opportunity to share Christ with someone, and we shied
away because of our fear of being rejected or persecuted? Our fear of failure can
cause us to shrink back, and at times deny Christ in our lives by our silence. The
basis for his fear was the rejection he experienced when he went to his own
people the second time. How would an unbeliever who is filled with pride,
anger, and rebellion, heed to a message from God, when His own people have
rejected a message from God? How do we tell others about Jesus being the
answer, when His own people live as if He really is not? We do not think about
how our lack of faith in some instances discourage those who are doing all they
can to carry a message of hope to others who do not know Christ. When we live
like we do not believe what we preach, we hinder the work of others that come
along to share Christ after we have already been there. I have lost count of
the times when I have spoken to people about Jesus, and they have gone on to
relate stories about this Christian or that Christian that they knew, or
encountered, that did this or that, or said this or that, which made them view
Christianity as hypocritical. After a while, we begin to shy away, and fear
that we will experience failure in serving. Maybe our fear comes from what we
view as our inability to do certain things, or not have certain talents or
abilities. The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:1, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come
with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God.” God already knows
our weaknesses and strengths. His desire is that we trust Him to work through
us, and thereby faithfully carry out His charge to preach the Gospel to every
creature (Mark 16:15). God charged Isaiah to bring a message to Israel, and part
of His message to them in Isaiah 41:10 was, “Fear not, for I am with
you; be not dismayed, for I am your
God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will
uphold you with My righteous right hand.” This principle and truth is
applicable to us today as God’s children. When God sends us out into the world,
He already knows the rejection and persecution we will face (John 15:18-25),
even from those we call “brothers and sisters”. Yet, He still sends us because
He wants us to trust that His Word will not return unto Him void. In Isaiah
55:10-11 God clearly states, “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring
forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to
the eater, 11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please,
and it shall prosper in the thing for
which I sent it.” Regardless of how the message is received, whether
communicating it to a fellow brother or sister for encouragement, or to the
unsaved for the sake of their soul, whatever the response, God promised that His
Word will not return unto Him without accomplishing what He desires for that
moment in time, and the future. If we are faithful in serving, then we have not
failed, because success or failure is not dependent on whether or not we get the
outcome we think we should get. If we carry out what God has called us to, by
faith, and simply obeyed the charge given to us, than we have succeeded. Moses
reiterated this excuse once more in verse 30 of this chapter, and God did not
bother to argue the point with Moses in both these instances, instead, He
repeated His “marching orders” to both him and Aaron. We may not have a certain
talent or ability, but what is impossible with us is possible with God; we just
have to get out of His way by putting aside our excuses as to why we cannot do
what He can certainly do, and will do, through us, if we would simply go.
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