The Constant Reminder

-
"Then Moses said to the Lord, "Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue." - (Ex. 4:10, NASB)

   As far as biblical folks go, Moses is my favorite, but Moses had a problem. We are not certain what "slow of speech and of tongue" means, possibly that he stuttered or had some other physical malady. What we do know is that this was a major hurdle, at least to Moses. During his original meeting with God, Moses gave several excuses for why God should choose someone else. The final one was his speaking issue. This stands out in most of our minds, for this is where God brings Aaron on board and gives him the task of speaking for Moses, leaving Moses to performing miracles and leading the people. However, this is not the only time his speech problem is mentioned. Twice in chapter six (6:12, 6:30) we find his struggle mentioned as being "unskilled in speech".  As I read this a thought came to mind. We often dismiss Moses's speech issue after his encounter with God, but that was not the end of it for Moses. Whatever difficulty he had was something that he struggled with during the course of his life. It was something that greatly hindered him. In spite of this, his weakness served as a constant reminder of his inability, and it forced Moses depend upon God, and not depend upon himself. 

   All of us, myself included, would enjoy getting rid of our weaknesses. Nevertheless, it is our weaknesses that remind us to trust in God. Paul would later write, "And [Jesus] has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. (2. Cor 12:9, NASB) We may not like our faults, weaknesses, and imperfections, but they remind us to depend upon the LORD. Look at your weaknesses as opportunities for the power of God to manifest in your life.

 Blessings!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Don't Waste Your Pain

-
Image
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction... - 2 Corinthians 1:3-9    Affliction (pain and suffering) is an inevitable, unavoidable, and repeatable part of life. None of us are exempt. While  we would all like to avoid affliction, the truth is that pain and affliction  serve a greater purpose , whether it comes from our own choices, the ordinary course of life, an attack of spiritual forces, or from God Himself.  Richard Cecil is noted as saying, "God's way of answering the Christian's prayer for more patience, experience, hope, and love often is to put him into the furnace of affliction.” Even  though we cannot avoid affliction, we can use it for the glory of God. That’s right. Your pain can be used to glorify God. How do we do this?    First, we need to learn to receive God's comfort. Much like in life, some folks are better at letting others "in" th
Read more

Dependent Upon God

-
Image
Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and camp..." Exodus 14:1    Have you ever stopped and considered why God led the Israelites to freedom by taking them through the desert? Really, think about the process for a moment. He led them out of the slavery for a day or two, then told them to turn back towards the city of their captivity, next to the sea, and make camp. This lead to their being trapped. Then He led them to a place with with plenty of water, but it was undrinkable. Not too long after that, when all their food provisions were depleted, He led them to a place where there was no food or water for themselves or their livestock. Why would God be so cruel? Well, if you know the rest of the story, then you may already know the answer. They were never trapped, for God parted the waters, allowing them safe passage through the sea and drowning their enemies. The undrinkable water was made drinkable, and they were provided food
Read more

Biblical Apprenticeship

-
Image
"...Go therefore and make disciples... ” - (Matt. 28:18-20)   The Greek word mathetai is the term we usually translate as disciple, and it expresses the idea of "student" or "pupil". To me, the best understanding today of the biblical principle of disciples is apprentices. Think about it, in a typical apprenticeship a new generation of practitioners are prepared with on-the-job training and often some accompanying classroom work and reading.  Apprenticeships typically last 3 to 6 years, and generally involve four steps:     (1)  Commitment - At this level the apprentice makes the commitment to stay the course by receiving the education and training necessary to become the “journeyman”.       (2) Classroom - At this phase, the apprentice receives the information necessary to understand and work within the sphere of labor.      (3) Training - At this phase, the apprentice begins to put the information they have learned into practice. First by wat
Read more