A Fresh Start and The Faith of Moses

It was a really encouraging night today at bible study! We met for the first time this quarter in someone's apartment and the turnout was a lot better than I expected with a handful of new faces which was great! Also, the piece of scripture we went over was pertinent to where I find myself right now and I hope it was relatable to the guys as well.

In Exodus 3 and 4 we read and discussed how God chooses the man Moses to be the deliverer of his people from the Egyptians. Obviously, if you know anything about Moses he is somewhat of a Biblical hero who was given the 10 commandments, is attributed with writing the Pentateuch, floated as a baby on the Nile, led Israel through their years in the wilderness and so on and so forth. He seems like an awfully impressive titan with a long resume of achievement. 

Then, you actually read this passage and there is a different picture. Here's a man who has been a shepherd in the wilderness because he murdered a man and had to flee Egypt. Here's a man who does not know why God has chosen him. Here's a man who is potentially unsure of the God he is even addressing. Here is a man of seemingly little faith and with a acknowledged problem for eloquent speech.

Is this some kind of joke? This cannot be the same man of so many exploits? And yet Moses is only one of the many Biblical examples of people that the Lord uses in spite of themselves. He is capable of making straight lines out of crooked sticks and they only further His glorious plan. 

I'm sure that if many of us look in the mirror and if we are honest, we might see an individual a lot like Moses in some ways. I know I often ask the Lord, Why me Lord? I can't do this. I can't speak. I'm not outgoing. I don't have the knowledge. 

In fact, my time as a leader has really stretched me because I have been put in many of those types of situations. Every time the Lord grows me and proves his faithfulness to me although I may not see it right away. Even in leading Bible study, which I would probably willingly leave to someone else, I see the Lord working. 

On a larger scale it's a good reminder that if we are only willing to surrender fully and completely to God until He is control, we will lead lives of purpose without fear or restraint. It can be such a hard thing partially due to human pride and partially because we think we are too broken.

But if we look back to Moses and how he is described in Hebrews (Chapters 3, 11), the blemishes are all but forgotten and his faithfulness to the Lord is remembered (even if it was the size of a mustard seed). In essence, we might see ourselves as the old testament version before Christ, but I AM sees us in a new light, as pure and fully realized heirs in Christ. 

That is such great news and while I am still excited about the encouragement of tonight, I pray that I can continue to surrender my whole life to Christ whether it is my vocations, my future, my relationships and anything else that weighs on me.

All the Glory Be His.