One of the most instructive scenes in all of scripture is the moment when Moses encountered the burning bush and engaged in a dialogue with the “I Am.”  You remember the background, of course.  Moses as a child was set afloat in the Nile River to prevent his being slaughtered by Pharoah’s men after Pharoah had decided that the Israelites were becoming too numerous.  The daughter of Pharoah found him and adopted him as her own. Moses was raised in the courts of Pharoah and received the best education available which undoubtedly included rhetoric and leadership. 

When Moses was about forty years old, we discover that he had become aware of his Hebrew connection and sensed that he was chosen to somehow lead God’s people out of Egypt.  In his zeal for his people and, perhaps, for his vision of deliverer, he killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew slave one afternoon.  When Moses learned there had been witnesses to the murder, he gave up his life in the palace and fled Egypt.   He disappeared into in the back country of Midian where he married Jethro’s daughter and became a simple shepherd. For forty years, he lived the dirty and often lonely life of a shepherd rather than the opulent life of a prince of Egypt.

Then came the day he saw a bush that was burning but was not being consumed.  Unaware of the adage that “curiosity killed the cat,” he turned aside to investigate.  As he approached the bush a voice told him to remove his shoes for, he was standing on holy ground. The thing that made the ground holy was the presence of God. Yaweh identified himself to Moses as “the Godof your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob” (Ex.2:6) Moses then hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.

Then came the big reveal.  God said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt.  I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers…I am sending you to Pharoah to bring the Israelites out of Egypt” (Ex. 2:7,10). 

Then came the litany of excuses that Moses made in order to exempt himself from his chosen destiny:  Who am I that I should go?  What if I go and tell the people that God has sent me to lead you out, but they ask “What is His name?”  What if they don’t believe me? You know I’m not a good speaker. Please send someone else. After each of Moses’ objections God gave him an answer – I will go with you; I will cause them to believe; I will do signs and wonders through you; I made your mouth so I can give you the capacity to speak; etc.  After each assurance, Moses found another reason that God was speaking to the wrong guy.  Finally, the text says, “Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses…” (Ex. 4:14). God had given him a more than adequate solution to his every objection, but he still kept saying “No” to God.  Even God gets frustrated like a parent whose child keeps asking “Why” to every instruction. 

We know that Moses eventually surrendered to God’s will and became the great deliverer of Israel. But initially, Moses believed his own evaluation of himself rather than God’s evaluation of him.  Moses saw himself as a failure, a nobody, a stutterer, a murderer, and a lowly shepherd who once possessed greatness but had run away.  Interestingly, Moses had once seen himself as the deliverer that God was now releasing to fulfill his destiny.  Forty years as a no-name shepherd in Midian had erased that perception. Moses’ appraisal was that the job had to go to a man of prominence and power, a man of influence, and a persuasive orator. God’s evaluation was that when Moses had all those things in Egypt, he was not qualified to lead because those things had made him arrogant, entitled, self-sufficient, and self-directed.  What God needed was a broken man, a humble man, and a man who had learned the patience and ways of a shepherd. God would give him the gifts, the eloquence, and the influence but what he needed was Moses’ character.  Of course, God had to stir up some faith in Moses, but God excels in using the willing rather than the highly qualified.

Now comes the application.  How often has God called us to leadership and how often have we made excuses as to why we were not the person?  How often has he called us to a moment of greatness…to speak out for righteousness, to share the gospel, to pray an audacious prayer for healing, to share a prophetic word that we sense is from God, or to lead a ministry…but we have found reasons not to do those things.  

Inevitably, we turn down the opportunity because, like Moses, we don’t feel qualified. But here is the thing…God will go with us; he will give us the words; he will do signs and wonders through us; he will give us favor, and he will guide us into our destiny…if we are willing.   All those promises for the followers of Jesus can be found in the New Testament. How much more would the Kingdom of Heaven advance on earth if the children of God would say “yes” to his call for greatness, rather than insisting that he use someone else?  Typically, we don’t just say “No,” but we say, “Not now. I’ll do it when I’ve had more training, when I’m more mature, or when my life is less hectic.” When God calls, he already has everything you need ready for you. You typically won’t receive those things before you start the journey, but only after you have said “yes” to the call and taken the first steps.

Let me encourage you (and myself) not to be the Moses in front of the bush, but the Moses in front of Pharoah.  Say “yes” to the moments and ministry that God puts before you and trust him to go with you.  If your faith has become boring, it’s because you are not stepping into moments and circumstances that require faith and you are not letting God stretch you.  Moses had been totally prepared for the call on his life but couldn’t recognize the reality.  However, God knew when the time was right. We too have been prepared and we should trust God to know when the time is right for us.  My goal is to follow Jesus with no excuses. It’s still a work in progress, but I want to encourage you to join me, at least in sincerely setting the goal.