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Knowing Who God Is

When God chose to speak to Moses out of the burning bush, it was for a specific purpose. He had a plan for Moses' life, and he was about to tell Moses exactly how to start carrying it out. Once Moses had properly positioned himself to hear from God, the Lord spoke: "I am sending you to Pharoah to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt" (Exodus 3:10).

Whoa!

Moses had hid his face - now he wanted to hide the rest of his body! Though he had made the proper response to God's glory, he blew it when it came to obedience. "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" he asked God.

Who am I for a job like that?

Whom shall I say sent me?

What if the Israelites don't believe me?

I can relate to how Moses felt when God told him what he wanted him to do. When my publisher first contacted me about writing this book, I felt so intimidated that as soon as my husband and I left the first meeting with the publishing team, I looked at him and exclaimed, "I can't do it!" I felt so ill-equipped for the task that I didn't even consider it. Jerry encouraged me to talk to the Lord before I made a decision.

Bible study and prayer convinced me that God wanted me to accept this challenge. But like Moses, I felt I would never measure up to the task. The Lord has had to continually remind me that he is in control and will accomplish good things through me. He wants to display his greatness through my inadequacy.

Moses' problem was that although he reverenced God, he didn't yet know him very well. Understanding God's attributes - the distinguishing marks of his character - helps us appreciate him in a deeper, more intimate way as it moves us from knowing about him to truly knowing him.

Because God is beyond our comprehension, what we know about him can come in only one way: He must reveal it to us. So in response to each one of Moses' objections - lack of faith, lack of authority, and lack of credibility - God revealed an aspect of his character.

When God tells you what he wants you to do, do you plead lack of authority, credibility, and ability? I often do. Though we, like Moses, should approach the presence of God with humility, we must not hang our heads because we feel unacceptable or inadequate. We must not end up saying, as Moses did, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it" (Exodus 4:13). God doesn't always call the equipped, but he always equips those he calls. He will never ask you to do something he won't enable you to accomplish. Instead of asking God, "Who am I?" Moses should have asked him, "Who are you?"

May22, 2007 at 2:46 PM

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