Moses was THE leader of Israel, and yet when God issued him the task of leading the Israelite people his confidence was shaken, he gave us the perfect example of ‘the shrink back’.
But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue. Exodus 4:10 (ESV)
In all likelihood, having been raised in the palace of Pharoah, Moses was well educated, and if Acts 7:22 is anything to go by he was not only educated but also ‘mighty in words and deeds’. Even if we look at the description of Moses in Acts 7:22 as a culmination of the lessons Moses learned over his lifetime, it seems unlikely that he didn’t at least possess the beginnings of those skills in some form, and yet he shrunk back, unable to see himself in the role God had reserved for him.
I point out Moses’s shrinking back because I want to acknowledge that even the most successful people we have ever met have likely doubted their abilities at some point. The difference for us is that the people we see presented as successful in the secular world lack something that we have as God-followers.
When the shrink back happens for someone in the secular world, they are forced to rely entirely on their own abilities, and if they do fail the responsibility for that failure falls at their own feet. Meanwhile, as Christ followers, assuming God is the one who has asked you to step out, you have a few guarantees that the secular individual does not.
- The thing you have been asked to do will be successful. Granted it may not look how you expect success to look, but there is no doubt that it will achieve exactly what God intended.
- If God has asked you to do something he will also equip you with the skills you need to achieve that task, building on what you do have, or growing what you don’t.
- Ultimately, if God has asked you to do a thing, the success or failure of that thing is in His hands, not yours.
I struggle with taking risks, but as I grow in my faith, as God reveals to me more of who he is, and how he is, I recognise that risks with God aren’t risky. God only ever asks us to contribute to and complete tasks that He already knows the outcome of. Spoiler alert, God wins, which means you win, and all you need to do is recognise your fear, let God know that you are afraid, pray for His peace, and step out in obedience.
This week I will trust that I have everything I need to do what God has called me to do. I won’t shrink back, and I pray you won’t either.
Karla