Day 19

Moses



Acts 7:17-36, Exodus 3:1-22, Exodus 4:1-17

BY Rebecca Faires

Moses is a hero of our faith. His life is the stuff of legends—found as a baby in the Nile, talking to a burning bush, heralding plagues in Egypt, parting the Red Sea. Who can claim a life as epic as the one Moses got to lead? And what made the difference? What made this man so dramatically different from everyone else?

We are inclined to picture Moses with the face of Charlton Heston—square-jawed, steely-eyed, and full of manly courage. But his first, second, and third responses to God’s call were fear and squirming. He eventually answered the call, but courage certainly wasn’t what made him stand apart. Moses even doubted God’s ability to work through him. In his self-doubt and excuse-making, we see how afraid Moses was, running from the serpent, and trying to wiggle out of his holy calling.

Here is what makes all the difference: God’s promised presence. He said to Moses, “I will certainly be with you” (Exodus 3:12). Moses was great because he stood on holy ground (vv.5–6). He stood on the foundation of God’s faithfulness. Every word from his mouth, or from the mouth of Aaron, was powerful because they were God’s words. The staff in his hands was the tool of God’s work of deliverance. Again and again, the assurance that God gave to trembling Moses was that He, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, would be the true deliverer of Israel.

When Israel rejected Moses’s leadership, they were truly rejecting God; Moses was simply the minister of God’s will and word to His people. In this we see two great truths that apply directly to us today. First, God Himself is the true deliverer. We do not lead others out of bondage. Only Christ does. We do not save.. Only the hand of God does.

Second, our own calling, like that of Moses, is to be willing instruments in the hands of God. It does not matter how feeble our voices, how weak our knees, how trembling our hearts. God’s power is made perfect in our weakness. The greatest deeds of our lives will be those in which we are malleable to His will, and in which He receives all the glory. He must increase, and we must decrease.

God graciously invites fearful and inarticulate servants like us to join in His great work in the world. There was nothing extraordinarily special about Moses, except that He was chosen by God to stand on holy ground. And thanks be to God, that the true work of deliverance is already accomplished fully by His own Son Jesus Christ!

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50 thoughts on "Moses"

  1. NanaK says:

    This was an inspiring devotion for me this morning. Thank you Rebecca, for your obedience to God’s calling on your life. At this time of my life, I am having difficulty discerning God’s voice in the direction for my life.
    I pray that I will remember: God will equip me to do whatever He calls me do and His timing is perfect timing. Lord, please open my eyes to see Your will, my ears to hear Your voice, and my heart to receive Your wisdom and guidance in my life. Amen

  2. Ashley Thomas says:

    “God’s power is made perfect in our weakness.” Yes! What I view as my own limitations mean nothing to God. We are
    called to servant leadership. I pray daily for God to use me for His will. I know we don’t often see the rewards of our good works, but you never know how much someone might just need a smiling face, a meal paid for, reassurance…. you never know when you are being Jesus to someone!

  3. JC says:

    Yes please advise on go fund me link for Cheyenne!

  4. Angie says:

    In today’s Bible reading I was struck by Moses taking the deliverance of the people into his own hands, confidence in himself, when he was young. “Acts 7:25 says, “He assumed his people would understand that God would give them deliverance through him, but they did not understand.”

    Then in the land of Midian when he saw the burning bush and knew it was God, he hid his face, afraid to look at God. Respectful, humbled.

    Next, God calls him to go and lead the people out of Egypt but this time, Moses is not confident. “Exodus 3:11 “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” God affirms in vs. 18 that they will listen. But Moses continues to question. Exodus 4:1 “What if they won’t believe me and will not obey me but say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”

    God turns Moses staff into a snake and Moses runs from it…(I’m thinking that would be me, too). Then God tells him to pick it up by the tail – and Moses does. He causes disease to cover his hand and then heals him.

    Moses seems to have faith in God, but now that he is older…not so much in himself. Even Moses questioning in Exodus 4:10 where he talks about his sluggish tongue is doubt in himself. But, “the Lord’s anger burned against Moses.”

    When I was younger…I tackled most anything with a positive, I can do this attitude. As I’ve aged, especially in the last few years I have become much less confident. You would think that experiencing God’s work in our lives, living his promises, and knowing him in different and growing ways would make me more bold in immediate obedience and trust of Him.

    When God calls, I. Need. To. Obey. My doubting myself I think goes back to that confidence I used to have in myself that I could do it all…now as I am older, I recognize I. Can. Not. However, what I need to draw on is the fact that, I Never. Could. God. Always. Did.

    Back when it was easy, it was always about Him. Now when it is more difficult, it is still always about Him. What a blessed peace.

  5. Alexis says:

    I would like to help Cheyenne as well. I’ll keep my eye out for the Go Fund Me link.

  6. Kathy says:

    A Go fund me page is a great idea. I’ll pitch in.

  7. Steph says:

    Cheyenne could then post the link in here instead.

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