By Andrew Scott
Andrew is Vice President of Recruiting for Operation Mobilization USA and is based outside of Atlanta, Georgia.
You would have been quaking too if you had been asked to do what he was asked to do!
Rescuing hundreds of thousands of people out of slavery from under a ruthless king and being given the job of managing them and their possessions on a trip through a desert towards a country you knew nothing about.
Moses found it easy to think of excuses why he was not the right person (Ex 3&4). It took God 30 verses in Exodus to get him to agree to go and even then Moses was not so convinced and rather reluctant.
Continue on through scripture: Barak, Gideon (Judges), Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jonah, Paul to name a few of the ones who faced a similar crisis of belief when the feeling of unworthiness or inadequacy seemed to drown out the voice and reassurance of God their Father.
The reality is that we all struggle with this feeling of inadequacy. (Recent research tells us that this is the number one issue holding God’s people back from moving forward in missions). I believe that this struggle is not based on reality, rather it is based on our feelings.
Back to Moses! His feelings seemed to blind him to the fact that the living God was speaking in an audible voice, out of a bush that was not burning…awesome!
His feelings seemed to deafen him to the truth of the words of reassurance from this very present, speaking audibly awesome God. His feelings seemed to blind him to the power of God even as his staff turned to a snake and back again and then there was the leprous hand thing.
Amazing realities right before him, but Moses’ personal inner struggle with “there is no way I can do this thing your asking me to do” meant he missed the reality of an awesome, living, powerful and very patient God standing right before him asking him to join Him on an amazing journey of faith.
In short, his personal feelings of inadequacy drowned out the reality of God and all He is.
Why? And why do these same feelings hold so many of us back from obediently following God. Maybe a reality check would help –
1) The Reality of who God is. Moses somehow missed the point that God was making – “Is it not I, the Lord?” (Ex 4v11) In Isaiah 40 God asks Israel again,
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth.”
In other words, “Hey! Do you not realize who is speaking here!” The God who has called us out as His children and also His ambassadors to a fallen world is all powerful. He created everything that exists both in the seen and unseen worlds and in Him all things hold together (Col 1v17).
This same God spoke to an awestruck group of disciples (just after He rose from the dead, walked among them and was about to ascend into the heavens…a pretty good indicator to the fact that He was an all powerful God) and said “I am with you always!”
So, if our God created everything, holds everything together, is with us as we live and move around amidst these things that He created (even the unseen spooky things) and can deliver on all He promises, then we can move forward into obedience with great courage.
Remember that Courage is not the absence of fear but doing the right thing even in the presence of fear.
2) The Reality of Who we are (Eph 2 9-10).
We are His masterpiece (He made you the way He intended – gifts, passions, personality, etc) created in Christ Jesus to do good works (He made you with a purpose in mind, to do His work among the nations) which He prepared in advance (He has been working on this one a long time).
You are uniquely made for a unique task – God knows this and is leading you towards it. Don’t fear whether you can do it or not. If God is leading you towards it, then you are made for it.
3) The Reality of the situation. It is not about us but it is truly all about God.
The sooner we give up our self-serving attitude that tells us that this Christian life is about our happiness, our security, our future, or how we feel and realize that it is about God and His glory, His agenda, and His mission; that we exist for Him and not Him for us, then how we FEEL will not hold us back from getting involved more deeply with God.
4) The Reality of Christ’s call. Jesus does not suggest some options to us. He does not have opt-out clauses or possible counter proposals that we can draft and submit.
His call was one of total abandonment of ourselves, our ambitions, our hopes and dreams. A total surrender to the Calvary Road where self has no place. When He calls us to Himself and to His purposes, He expects obedience, not excuses, not self pity, and not 20 reasons why we can’t.
He was speaking His truth when He said, “Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go, even of one’s own self, can’t be my disciple.” When the Master calls, don’t stop to ask, “Am I able?”
5) The Reality of the Enemy. We are in a Battle (Eph 6v12). The more we move forward against the enemy (Satan), the more he will come against us. From the beginning of time he has used the tactic of doubt.
See your present doubting of these 4 realities for what they are – an attack of the enemy. Courageously resist the devil and move forward in obedience to what God is calling you to.
Don’t let your feelings of inadequacy surrounding what you cannot do hold you back from what God wants and is calling you to do. HE is able to do exceedingly and immeasurably more then we can ever ask or imagine!
