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Lessons From the Exodus -God Cannot Possibly Use Me
The burning bush that Moses encountered in chapter 3 of Exodus is a lesson in who God chooses to use. Remember Moses’s biography. He was raised in the palace court even though he was not an Egyptian. He enjoyed the privileges of royalty even though he knew he didn’t deserve it because he was an Israelite. He committed murder at age 40 when he saw an Egyptian beating a fellow Israelite forcing him to become a fugitive from justice. And when he encountered God at the burning bush he had spent 40 years in self-imposed exile tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro. He was a has-been who, if they had it back then, would have been on prozac. He had family issues, personal anger issues, identity issues, and well - he like us - had issues.
And now, he encounters God who tells him “I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
Moses pushed back on God. “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” God says, “I am with you.”
“What do I say to the Israelites when they say who sent me?” God says, “Tell them I AM has sent me to them.” Think about that for a moment. Who is God. He is I AM. He is the sovereign God. He is I AM in our lives as in Moses’ life.
Then Moses says, in Chapter four, “What if the Egyptians don’t believe me or listen to me and say “The Lord did not appear to you?” Then Moses says, “I am not a good public speaker'' and finally he just says, “O Lord, please send someone else to do it.”
I love this conversation because it is like the conversations we have with God in our heads when He is asking us to step out in faith and do something for Him. We think, I’m not qualified, or I’m not trained, I haven’t been to Bible school, or, just like Moses, Lord how about you find someone else.
Here is the cool thing about God. He can take all of our biographies, the good bad and the ugly and use them for his purposes. In fact, think of the ways that Moses’ upbringing and biography were perfect for his assignment. I also love that Moses is eighty years old when he meets God at the burning bush. God doesn’t care about our age. Mostly he cares about our hearts and our willingness to follow his lead. And remember, He is I AM. If He calls us to do something He will be there for us and help us get it done.
If you are reading through Exodus as I do these devos, consider reading chapters, 4, 5 and 6 today. And remember that I’d love to hear from you at TJ [email protected].
Father, thank you that you choose to use messed up people like us for your Kingdom purposes. Help me to trust you when you ask me to get involved. Thank you that I can trust you as I AM. Amen.
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By TJ AddingtonThe burning bush that Moses encountered in chapter 3 of Exodus is a lesson in who God chooses to use. Remember Moses’s biography. He was raised in the palace court even though he was not an Egyptian. He enjoyed the privileges of royalty even though he knew he didn’t deserve it because he was an Israelite. He committed murder at age 40 when he saw an Egyptian beating a fellow Israelite forcing him to become a fugitive from justice. And when he encountered God at the burning bush he had spent 40 years in self-imposed exile tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro. He was a has-been who, if they had it back then, would have been on prozac. He had family issues, personal anger issues, identity issues, and well - he like us - had issues.
And now, he encounters God who tells him “I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
Moses pushed back on God. “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” God says, “I am with you.”
“What do I say to the Israelites when they say who sent me?” God says, “Tell them I AM has sent me to them.” Think about that for a moment. Who is God. He is I AM. He is the sovereign God. He is I AM in our lives as in Moses’ life.
Then Moses says, in Chapter four, “What if the Egyptians don’t believe me or listen to me and say “The Lord did not appear to you?” Then Moses says, “I am not a good public speaker'' and finally he just says, “O Lord, please send someone else to do it.”
I love this conversation because it is like the conversations we have with God in our heads when He is asking us to step out in faith and do something for Him. We think, I’m not qualified, or I’m not trained, I haven’t been to Bible school, or, just like Moses, Lord how about you find someone else.
Here is the cool thing about God. He can take all of our biographies, the good bad and the ugly and use them for his purposes. In fact, think of the ways that Moses’ upbringing and biography were perfect for his assignment. I also love that Moses is eighty years old when he meets God at the burning bush. God doesn’t care about our age. Mostly he cares about our hearts and our willingness to follow his lead. And remember, He is I AM. If He calls us to do something He will be there for us and help us get it done.
If you are reading through Exodus as I do these devos, consider reading chapters, 4, 5 and 6 today. And remember that I’d love to hear from you at TJ [email protected].
Father, thank you that you choose to use messed up people like us for your Kingdom purposes. Help me to trust you when you ask me to get involved. Thank you that I can trust you as I AM. Amen.