“The Lord said to Moses, ‘I am the Lord; tell Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.’ But Moses said to the Lord, ‘Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips. How will Pharaoh listen to me?’
“And the Lord said to Moses, ‘See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh... You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land. But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.’ Moses and Aaron did so; they did just as the Lord commanded them. Now Moses was eighty years old… when they spoke to Pharaoh.'” Exodus 6:29-7:7
A man of doubt, faltering lips, ineloquent speech, was to continue approaching the mighty Pharoah? How could this be effective? What would be the good? The LORD God Almighty, El Shaddai, smothered every question, doubt, and fear with Himself, every promise backed by His infinite perfection, knowledge, and power. The whole exercise was all about who He was, what He would do, and how He’d be known and glorified; Moses was merely His chosen instrument. (Exodus 3:10-14; 4:10-13; 5:22-23)
I am the Lord. Speak all I say. I have made you like God. I command you. I will harden Pharaoh’s heart. I multiply my wonders. I will bring my people out of the land. I stretch out my hand. I am the Lord. Every ‘I’ uttered from God silenced the ‘but’s from Moses. He who commanded was He who would do all the work through His obedient servant. He was great, enough, had all authority, and would be exalted. How could Moses resist His will? How could he not go forward in these promises?
We might wonder about Moses’s reluctance, yet fail to see our own in tasks much lesser. If we take enough thought to take God’s word seriously, there are many excuses we make for not fulfilling His commission to us, His directives for treating, forgiving, and loving others, praying for enemies and governing authorities, preferring others’ interests before our own, and more. Are we hasting through our days without delving into God’s word and actually applying it? Where are we picking what we want to heed and choosing what we intend to ignore? (Matthew 5:44; 28:19-20; Romans 12:9-21; 13:1; Ephesians 4:32; Philippians 2:3-4; 1 Timothy 2:1-4; 2 Timothy 4:3)
Every one of these devises has too much to do with us, and not enough to do with the Lord. What would change if we matched every ‘what if?’ and ‘but I’ with a statement God has made about Himself? What if we offered our whole selves as His instruments for righteousness and kingdom plans? What do our actions prove about the measure of our trust in Him, His wonders, His ability, His “I” promises? (Romans 6:13; 12:1-2)
Lord, You are great and I am Yours. So be it, for Your glorious purposes and fame.
As the rain and snow 