“Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. 3 So Moses said, “ I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up.” 4 When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 He said also, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.” (Exodus 3:1-6)
Perhaps Moses had a sense of calling to rescue his own people from under the yoke of Egypt. Perhaps it was just a reaction to injustice or his compassion towards them. Perhaps he dreamed of bringing freedom to his beleaguered and oppressed kinsfolk. Whatever it was that motivated him to attack and kill the Egyptian man (Exodus 2:11-15), it was ill conceived, reactionary and insufficient to make any real difference to their plight and of course, entirely in his own strength. Even the Hebrew man who had been fighting with another Hebrew man asked, “Who made you ruler and a judge over us?” With the benefit of hindsight this is an interesting question considering Moses future ministry, but one which highlights how out of place and foolish Moses’ actions were at that time; killing one Egyptian didn’t change anything.
It can be like that for us too. We may have a sense of calling; we may have a sense of compassion and a yearning to do something useful for the Lord within a given demographic or geographic place, but are we ready? Are we called? Are we operating in our own strength and blundering through taking matters into our own hands, getting into trouble and making things worse?
If we ever wondered that we might miss our calling because we were not sure if we would hear Him call – perhaps we are too deaf to hear and thus miss His call altogether; or we fear going to our graves having missed His will for us and have a sense of failure for all that we had forgone – then think again.
When God wants your attention, He will get it. Granted, some Christians seem to be more ‘in tune’ as it were, to the Lord’s leading, but for the rest of us we need something less subtle and much clearer. When God called Moses, it was unmistakable. God really got his attention. When He calls you it will be likewise. You will then go under His authority, having been prepared, having the proper confidence and the courage to do so. You will go in His strength, not blundering in under your own. You could have otherwise been at risk of being asked, “Who do you think you are?” and looking a little foolish.
It is worth noting that God’s timing is always perfect. We may ‘feel’ that we are ready to get on with ‘things’, but it is often only when one looks back that you realise just how ill-prepared and unready you really were and just how much of a mess you would have made of it at that time. God is preparing you in ways that you couldn’t even imagine. In the meantime be patient, diligent and faithful in all that you do.
“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. 10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election.” (2 Peter 1:5-10)
Hold on to your dreams lightly; the Lord may have a better plan: just look at what was accomplished by Moses under God, once he had heard, obeyed and followed his unmistakable calling in its proper time.
So, perhaps you are called? The next article explores how will you know you will be able to do all that is asked of you?
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Walking With the Word : Paul Curd 