Fear of the unknown.
Sickness
Pain
Sadness
Tough financial spots
These all present opportunities for fear to creep in. Fear of the unknown, of uncharted waters. What's happening? How do I make it stop? Where is God when I need Him? Why do I feel like He's not here? Can't I get some kind of magic ticket printed out that tells me what the end result will be when all this is over?
Oh, if only. But it doesn't work that way, I'm afraid.
If you've accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, then you have the guarantee of eternity. But just because we have a certain eternal life ahead doesn't mean that this life will be all roses. Stuff happens. From spilled toothpaste to lost jobs, unwashed dishes to dead car batteries, bad hair days to bad health days, this world has stuff going on that effects us every day. Sometimes we can't change that. All we can change is our attitude.
Moses had a lot going on. To start with, it was a very unlucky time to be a Hebrew male. Moses was born during a time in which the pharaoh of Egypt had commanded every baby boy to be thrown into the river. (Exodus 1:22)
I think we all know the story of Moses's being hidden in the bulrushes of the Nile River by his mother in Exodus Chapter 2, how his sister hung back to see what would happen, and Pharaoh's daughter came to the river to bathe, found him and took him in as her own son, (2:10) Also familiar is his killing of the Egyptian, and his subsequent flight to the desert of Midian. Similarly, the story of the burning bush is also on the verge of overtold, But go to Chapter 3, verse 11, and look at Moses' response when God tells him to lead the people out of Egypt.
"But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
Here we see Moses, deliverer of the people of Israel, Father of the Faith.
Fearful.
Look at what God said in response.
"And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”
Now there was a lot that God didn't tell Moses. How and when the people would be brought out, but there are three distinct promises made. God will be with him, the people will come out of Egypt, and one day, Moses will worship God on this mountain.
So that was enough for Moses right?
Well....
not exactly.
What follows in the next chapter or so of Exodus is a laundry list of excuses given by Moses. What if they don't believe me, what if pharaoh doesn't let them go, what if I stutter, etc.
Why can't you just take the word of God? We ask Moses from up on our high horse.
Well, why don't we?
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:27-30)
How can we look at Moses and ask why he didn't trust the promises of God, when we don't either? We doubt that God's promises are enough for our salvation. "Well, yes I believe Jesus died for me, but I still have to XYZ to be a "good enough Christian".
Just like the promise God gave Moses, God promises us the end result, no one can pluck us from his hand, but he never tells us what happens in the interim, but just like Moses, knowing the end result should be enough.
Pain
Sadness
Tough financial spots
These all present opportunities for fear to creep in. Fear of the unknown, of uncharted waters. What's happening? How do I make it stop? Where is God when I need Him? Why do I feel like He's not here? Can't I get some kind of magic ticket printed out that tells me what the end result will be when all this is over?
Oh, if only. But it doesn't work that way, I'm afraid.
If you've accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, then you have the guarantee of eternity. But just because we have a certain eternal life ahead doesn't mean that this life will be all roses. Stuff happens. From spilled toothpaste to lost jobs, unwashed dishes to dead car batteries, bad hair days to bad health days, this world has stuff going on that effects us every day. Sometimes we can't change that. All we can change is our attitude.
Moses had a lot going on. To start with, it was a very unlucky time to be a Hebrew male. Moses was born during a time in which the pharaoh of Egypt had commanded every baby boy to be thrown into the river. (Exodus 1:22)
I think we all know the story of Moses's being hidden in the bulrushes of the Nile River by his mother in Exodus Chapter 2, how his sister hung back to see what would happen, and Pharaoh's daughter came to the river to bathe, found him and took him in as her own son, (2:10) Also familiar is his killing of the Egyptian, and his subsequent flight to the desert of Midian. Similarly, the story of the burning bush is also on the verge of overtold, But go to Chapter 3, verse 11, and look at Moses' response when God tells him to lead the people out of Egypt.
"But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
Here we see Moses, deliverer of the people of Israel, Father of the Faith.
Fearful.
Look at what God said in response.
"And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”
Now there was a lot that God didn't tell Moses. How and when the people would be brought out, but there are three distinct promises made. God will be with him, the people will come out of Egypt, and one day, Moses will worship God on this mountain.
So that was enough for Moses right?
Well....
not exactly.
What follows in the next chapter or so of Exodus is a laundry list of excuses given by Moses. What if they don't believe me, what if pharaoh doesn't let them go, what if I stutter, etc.
Why can't you just take the word of God? We ask Moses from up on our high horse.
Well, why don't we?
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:27-30)
How can we look at Moses and ask why he didn't trust the promises of God, when we don't either? We doubt that God's promises are enough for our salvation. "Well, yes I believe Jesus died for me, but I still have to XYZ to be a "good enough Christian".
Just like the promise God gave Moses, God promises us the end result, no one can pluck us from his hand, but he never tells us what happens in the interim, but just like Moses, knowing the end result should be enough.
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