God Equips Moses

BY Rebekah Lyons

Text: Exodus 4:1-17, Hebrews 5:1-6

I love Moses. He’s such a beautiful picture of needing everything God offers.

And I love reading about Moses’ first encounter with the God of the universe, burning in a bush. The dialogue between them makes me laugh because Moses’ reluctance is so relatable to me. His objections remind me of my own.

God: Go to Pharaoh so that you can bring my people out of Egypt.
Moses: What? Who, me?!

God: I will be with you.
Moses: What if they ask who sent me?

God: I Am has sent you.
Moses: What if they don’t believe me?

God: I’ll give you the power to perform signs and wonders in My Name.
Moses: But I’m not good with words.

This is where I can imagine God saying slowly and firmly, “Moses, who made your mouth? Go! I’ll help you speak, and I’ll tell you what to say” (Exodus 4:1-13, my paraphrase).

It’s easy to read about Moses’ doubt and think, This is God speaking to you! Don’t you trust Him? After all, even God Himself was angry with Moses (Exodus 4:14). But then I think of all the times I’ve determined God must have confused His plans for me with His plans for someone else. I’ve offered up plenty of, You’ve got the wrong girl! I can’t do this! Just look at my mess…  

I often wonder what God is thinking as He listens to my fears and protests of never-enough-ness. The writer of Hebrews offers us some insight into this:

“For every high priest taken from men is appointed in service to God for the people, to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins… No one takes this honor on himself; instead, a person is called by God, just as Aaron was” (Hebrews 5:1,4).

God does the choosing and the assigning—not us. He calls us, and He equips us. There’s no need to run from His calling, to deny it, or wish it away. Because “the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus” will also “equip [us] with all that is good to do His will, working in us what is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ” (Hebrews 13:20, 21).

Jesus breathes His power through our frailty in ways we can’t imagine. It’s because we have our own weaknesses that we’re able to love others well, to deal gently with those we encounter (Hebrews 5:2). In fact, this is the only thing we can boast in: His power is made perfect and on full display in our never-enough-ness. When we are weak, we are actually made strong in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

Whoa. The secret to strength is weakness.

Grasping this has been a game-changer for me. I used to think my shortcomings disqualified me from serving Him. But I’ve learned that when I admit my inadequacy, I invite God’s power in to strengthen me. This is fertile soil for surrender. Surrender says, The calling You’ve laid before me is too great. I cannot fathom it. Still, I will obey. I will trust that You go before me.

When God equips us, He also strengthens us. And in that strength, we realize that we, the weak ones, have been a part of God’s plan all along.

So if you’re feeling not-enough today, take heart. The God who was faithful to equip Moses and used him to deliver the Israelites, will surely strengthen and provide for us as well.