Moses said to the Lord, ‘Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.’
The Lord said to him, ‘Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.’ (Exodus 4:10-12)
Moses started life as a real “underdog”. He was born under the cloud of Pharaoh’s murderous plan to eradicate all male babies born to the Hebrews. But God saved him through the kindness of Pharaoh’s own daughter. (See Exodus 2:1-10)
The next season of Moses’ life was ostensibly spent as a “top dog”. He was raised in the extended royal household of Egypt. We suspect he was educated alongside other members of that household, and he certainly ate from the royal menu.
In a sudden about-turn, that top dog status was lost overnight when Moses let his righteous indignation on behalf of the Hebrews get the better of him and he committed murder. Overnight, he went from the comfort of the palace to the most wanted list and he was forced to flee to the far side of the wilderness. Here he lived for decades as a fugitive, married a Midianite woman, and settled in to life as a nomadic shepherd. His descent into obscurity and exclusion was complete.
So, when God appeared to Moses and called him to go back to Egypt to confront Pharaoh and to lead the multitude of Hebrew slaves out of Egypt and into freedom, Moses felt utterly inadequate. I do not believe he was being difficult when he raised “excuses”. He was desperate not to take on this assignment because he truly believed that no one would even listen to him, let alone follow him as their leader. Not only was he a pariah in Egypt, but he had a lifelong speech impediment. Why would anyone listen to him. Moses looked in the mirror and all he saw was an underdog destined to fail.
This morning let’s consider that Moses’ greatest obstacles to fulfilling God’s plan were not his inadequacies or inabilities. His greatest obstacle was that he could not yet turn his eyes away from his own inadequacies and fix them on the LORD and His utterly perfect adequacy. That’s what the LORD was calling him to do when He asked the rhetorical question, “Who gave human beings their mouths?” and promised, “I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” God, the Great I Am, called Moses to stop being blinded by his own inadequacy and to trust in God his Creator and Empowerer!
Almighty LORD, I choose to see You and to trust You. You have called me to serve You for a reason and because You called me, I trust that You have gifted and enabled me and that You will empower me moment by moment. If You believe I can do it, who am I to believe that I cannot? Forgive me for my past refusal to step into Your will and Your plans, and please give me courage to step out in obedient service today. In the Name of Jesus, King of the underdogs. Amen.
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