“‘Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.’ But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?’ ” (Exodus 3:11).
How do you feel about trying something new or something which you had failed at before? For some of us it can be very challenging to try something new or something at which we had previously failed.
Moses was a great servant of God. He was the one who led God’s people out of the slavery of Egypt and towards the Promised Land God had given to them. However, as the opening verses above indicate, he did not exactly jump at the opportunity to lead God out of Egypt. In fact, he is somewhat reluctant to do this as he says to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt”? (Exodus 3:11). Why was Moses so hesitant to do this?
Moses had been born during hard times for God’s people Israel. In Egypt, there arose a king who had forgotten all the good Joseph had done for Egypt (Exodus 1:8). Because he viewed the Israelites as a potential threat he enslaved them (Exodus 1:9-14). Furthermore, Pharaoh tried to have all the male Hebrew children killed at birth (Exodus 1:15-22), but, in faith, Moses’ parents placed baby Moses in an ark by the river bank where he was later seen and picked up by Pharaoh’s own daughter (Hebrews 11:23; Exodus 2:1-6). Pharaoh’s daughter raised him up as her own and, through God’s providence, Moses’ own biological mother served as his nurse (Exodus 2:7-10).
As Moses grew, he learned of his Hebrew heritage from his mother. He understood the plight of his people and was willing to suffer with them (cf. Hebrews 11:24-26). In fact, when he was 40 years old, he had attempted to lead his people out of Egypt. Once, he saw an Egyptian beating one of his Hebrew brethren, he arose and killed the Egyptian (Exodus 2:11-12). He thought his brethren would rise up to follow him, but they did not (Acts 7:22-25). When he realizes that Pharaoh had discovered that he had killed an Egyptian and that his Israelite brethren were not going to follow his lead, Moses fled Egypt (Exodus 2:13-15). Moses first attempt to lead the Israelites had failed!
At this time, Moses flees Egypt for the land of Midian (Exodus 2:15). While there he gets married, settles down, and has a family (Exodus 2:16-22). In fact, the Biblical text says that Moses “was content” to live there (Exodus 2:21). It appears he no longer had the strong desire to lead his brethren out of Egypt. Now, 40 years later (cf. Acts 7:30), Moses had found his “comfort zone”.
However, God had seen the affliction of His people and needs a leader to lead them out (Exodus 2:23-25). To whom did He turn? A man who was had failed before and was now settled in his “comfort zone”. He calls Moses from the burning bush and tells Moses He has heard His people’s affliction and has come down to deliver them (Exodus 3:1-9). Although Moses tries to make excuses as to why he should not lead God’s people, God will not let him get away with excuses (cf. Exodus 3:10-14; 4:1-16). Moses is the man God has chosen and God will use him to lead his people!
What task does God have for me? Whether it is something new or something at which I had failed before, I must be willing to leave my “comfort zone”, not make excuses, and let God lead me to serve Him! God can use me to glorify Him by my life (Matthew 5:13-16). Today, I rejoice that, even with all my weakness and previous failures, God can use me for great things!
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).