As with part two about Elijah seeming an odd choice for a doubter, you may also be wondering why I am choosing two more heroes of the faith in this series. Both of their times of doubt were something to which I am certain we can all relate.
I will begin with Moses. I am going to keep this very brief and not go into the full story of Moses. I am simply going to touch on the key point in Moses' life when he was called by God.
If you do not know how the story of Moses begins, you can read about it in Exodus 2. There are only 25 verses in chapter two and yet there have been many versions of the early years of Moses made into movies. First, do not ever, ever take the word of a very corrupt Hollywood as truth about anything the Bible says. These movies are all speculation and not fact. They get a lot wrong, so just skip all the movies and read the Bible instead!
For the sake of this article, I am going to jump ahead to Exodus 3. Moses is called into the ministry in a very unique way.
And the angel of the Lord [This was Jesus.] appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, "Here am I." And He said, "Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." Moreover He said," I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. Exodus 3:2-5-6
After Moses is given the instructions of traveling back to Egypt to demand to Pharoah to release the Hebrew slaves (verses 7-10), his insecurities immediately take over.
And Moses said unto God, "Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?" Exodus 3:11
Don't we all feel that way when God gives us a task? At least I do. Who am I God? I am not special. I am full of flaws. No one repects my opinions or listens to me. In fact, that's almost exactly what Moses says next in chapter 4.
And Moses answered and said, "But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee." Exodus 4:1
I can completely relate to this. Can you? No one takes me seriously. I am shy and not bold. Why would God choose to use me? In verses 2-9, God gives Moses a series of miraculous signs he can use to prove to the people that he is indeed sent by God. Obviously, it is very unlikely we ourselves will be allowed such signs, but that does not mean God can't work in other ways, such a miraculously softening up a hard heart long enough to listen to the messages God gives us.
Even after God says He will allow Moses to use these miraculous signs, Moses still feels unsure of his calling. His words, "O my Lord, I am not eloquent" are exactly the same I have said hundreds of times.
And Moses said unto the Lord, "O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue." Exodus 4:10
Does God then say to Moses, "Never mind then, I will choose someone who took speech classes and is an outstanding orator?" No! He reminds Moses of the Truth. I love these verses!
And the Lord said unto him, "Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say." Exodus 4:11-12
God could have suddenly granted Moses the gift of being a perfect speaker. Ever wonder why He did not? Perhaps to keep Moses humble, or maybe because Moses doubted God, rather than saying, "I am a weak vessel God, but I trust You can make me strong and supernaturally encourage others to listen to me." Or perhaps it was for the sake of the helper He allows to accompany Moses, his brother Aaron (verses 16-17). Whatever the reason, we can safely say that Aaron was called as much as Moses was. But eventually the faith and obedience in Moses would grow much stronger and his understanding of God would surpass all the Israelites and he would be the ultimate leader of them all. Just remember, we now live under a new covenant, and we are to follow the ways of Jesus Christ over the man-made laws that existed in Moses' time (See Hebrews 8:13 & Hebrews 12:24), with the exception that we still follow the 10 Commandments that were written by the finger of God.
Again, I want this to be brief, so I am not going to continue on with the story of Moses, but I hope you can see my point.
Now here is where I want to parallel Moses to one my favorite Old Testament prophets, Jeremiah. When he is called by God, He has the same insecurities Moses had.
Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." Then said I, "Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child." But the Lord said unto me, "Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord." Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth." Jeremah 1:4-9
You can see here that Jeremiah also had a moment of doubt in his own calling. He felt he was too young and probably also did not feel the older men would respect what he had to say. But just as with Moses, God reminds Jeremiah that He alone made us, and if He chooses us for a specific task, He will make it possible for us to serve Him.
Whether we think we are too shy, poor speakers, too old, too young, not healthy enough, not smart enough, or whatever excuses we may use, God does not want our doubts but our faith. He wants us to trust His will and His plans to serve Him. God is gracious and understands our doubts, and if needed He will send us a helper as he sent Aaron. More importantly, He will send His Holy Spirit to enable us and help us serve according to His perfect will. To glorify His name, and not our own.
May we quit making excuses why we cannot serve and instead start saying, as my other favorite Old Testament prophet says in Isaiah 6:8, "Here am I; send me."
It is important to be humble and not puffed up with pride as God prefers to use a "broken and contrite heart" (Psalm 51:17) to serve Him. In fact, it is those of us who say, "Why me, Lord?" in humility and understand the nature of serving others other than self-service, that God is more likely to call. He wants ones willing to change, not ones who think he or she is already perfect.
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