So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him
Genesis 22:3
Growing up, whenever my parents instructed us, they would be keen that we do it immediately (obviously). When we took time to do it, they had this thing they would tell us: Delayed obedience is disobedience. And in my mind, I always felt like I got it done anyway, didn’t I? Now as a mum, I see the importance of being able to follow instructions promptly. It helps to instill values like discipline, obedience, and efficiency—some of those tasks needed to be done so that others could follow. For instance, cleaning your room will allow me to mop the floor afterward. But often, not just for kids but even adults, our minds are set on the instruction itself and not what is on the other end of prompt obedience.
Abraham, the father of faith, was given the heart-wrenching instruction to sacrifice his son, Isaac. And the Bible records that he “rose early in the morning” to finish it. This lack of hesitation isn’t that he felt inconvenienced, afraid, or even depressed about it, but that he understood that God’s character of goodness and love wouldn’t have Abraham doing anything that would be wicked even though, at that moment, it was pretty distressing. As the story goes, because of his faith, God made him a father of nations (Romans 4:1-8). His lack of hesitation brought him a blessing that has never been seen, and we’ll probably never see again.
On the other hand, we have Moses, another fantastic character in the Bible who did miraculous things. We’ve probably heard the story about parting the Red Sea to the point that we have become familiar with the story, but can you imagine parting a puddle of water, let alone a whole sea? How awesome! But Moses didn’t start with the parting of the sea. I identify with the beginning of his journey with God in many ways. His hesitation and self-doubt are something I truly understand. Don’t we all? Don’t you have that one thing that pokes at your heart incessantly, and you can’t get rid of it? That thing you want to do, but voices in your head from your past, friends, and background tell you that you can’t get it done? And when you think about it, though you often prefer not to, you know God is telling you to do it. This ‘holy burden’ is what I’m talking about today.
In Exodus chapters 3 and 4, we see the calling of Moses and how he minded his business taking care of his father-in-law’s sheep, far from Egypt, where he had fled from the anger of the people who saw him kill an Egyptian. God calls him to return to that place he had successfully stayed away from for 40 years! I believe that because he knew he had managed to escape, he wouldn’t obey without a fight. In the words of pop culture, isn’t that just disrespectful?
The story takes the flow of five steps before Moses reluctantly accepts.
1. The distress
God’s calling in our lives is based on a need somewhere else. It is never solely for our benefit that we are called. Here, Genesis 3:7 says, “Then the Lord told him, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering.” Other people’s distress will have God seeking someone to use to deliver His people. The same happened for Noah (Genesis 6:5-22), Joshua (Joshua 1:1-18), Nehemiah (Nehemiah 1:3-2:6, 12:27), Esther (Esther 4:1-17, 9:1), Paul (Acts 9:10-19) among so many others. Our calling will always be to solve other people’s problems and, in the process, we find fulfillment and glorify God.
2. The doubt
Unconsciously, when I knew my calling would be to reach out to people, particularly single mums, I thought that I wasn’t enough, that my story wasn’t as dramatic or painful, and so I had nothing to give. I didn’t feel sufficient in who I was and what I could offer. This sounds like what Moses said “But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11). When he gauged what he knew about his insufficiency against what God was telling him to do, he was certain that he wasn’t anywhere close to being capable. He says, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?” His worry wasn’t just with what he thought of himself but also with what others thought of him. In both instances, God is patient enough to always assure Him of His presence with him. Not only does He tell him that the people will surely accept him, but that because of Pharaoh’s arrogance, He would “cause the Egyptians to look favorably on you. They will give you gifts when you go so you will not leave empty-handed” (Exodus 3:21).
3. The disbelief
You would think that because Moses had already been told how amazingly the story would end, then he would want to be a part of it. But, no! He gives the next protest saying, “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The Lord never appeared to you’?” (Exodus 4:1). This sounds a lot like the fear of rejection – that while you may have something encouraging to share, people may shoot it down for being shallow, closed-minded, self-righteous or even completely false. But God lovingly assures him again with the promise of three signs: turning the staff to a snake and back, his hand getting leprous then healed, and the river water turning to blood. And it’s not just theory; God does a practice session with him to give him the confidence to do it.
4. The disqualification
Unfortunately, even bloody river water isn’t enough for Moses, and he points out another issue with himself: “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I have never been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.” Pointing out things that make it hard for us to get to where we need to be is a skill we’re familiar with. I know I want to sing, but I don’t have the stage presence I need. I know I want to start the business, but I don’t have the required client base. I want to be a news anchor but don’t have the face for it. Imposter syndrome can be a real pain, yet we speak it fluently. God then reminds Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear, or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.” (Exodus 4:11-12). We often forget that God pays for His projects. Where He guides, He provides (Isaiah 58:11). It’s never about what we can do but what He can do through us.
5. The delegation
Finally, Moses sees that God seems to have an answer for everything. He throws his arms in the air and confesses, “Lord, please! Send anyone else” (Exodus 4:13). Because of the insufficiency ingrained in his mind, he knows he can’t bring himself to get it done despite all the promises that God patiently gives. In the spirit of compromise, God tells him “Aaron will be your spokesman to the people. He will be your mouthpiece, and you will stand in the place of God for him, telling him what to say” (Exodus 4:16). Often, we fail to reach the standard of faith that God is calling us to but, in His mercy, He gives us someone to fill that gap. This isn’t a cop-out. Instead, it’s the focus on getting the task done so that the people in distress may find deliverance.
Conclusion
The length that God goes to deliver His people is humbling. Even more humbling is that he uses unworthy vessels like ourselves to partner with Him on such noble missions. It may not be about delivering people who are suffering like Moses. It may be a business that will put food on the table for a community, a leadership position that will restore order in a company, a political position that will give dignity to the suffering or a blog that will encourage someone who needs the motivation to take a step of faith into the scary direction that God is calling them to. While we feel the urge to doubt because of our insecurities, disbelieve because of our fear of rejection, disqualify ourselves because of our weaknesses, and seek delegation because of our shortcomings, we must intentionally choose to rise early and march forward. Our strength isn’t in ourselves but in The One who called us.
Verse for the week: 2 Corinthians 4:6-7
For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.
