The Question Is, What Are You Going to Do with It?
All of us have been called in some way or another. We have been given gifts, and we should use them. The problem is that we often limit ourselves. We don’t think we have what it takes.
Moses was called to lead the Israelites out of Egypt when God spoke to him through the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-10). But Moses pushed back, thinking he wasn’t capable of doing what God was asking him to do (Exodus 3:11-13, 4:1, 4:10-14). Don’t we all make excuses like that? We convince ourselves that we are inadequate or incapable.
Look at the leader Moses became once he trusted God and accepted his calling.
He and his brother Aaron went to the Israelites in Egypt, and the people were willing to follow Moses until things got hard. When Pharaoh made them gather their own straw to make bricks (Exodus 5:20-21), the people were quickly discouraged. They thought leaving Egypt would be easy. They didn’t want to go through the hard stuff that came before receiving the blessing.
After the back and forth with Pharaoh, the Israelites finally left Egypt. They hadn’t gone very far when Pharaoh changed his mind and pursued them. Once again, the Israelites started whining (Exodus 14:10-12). This is when God parted the Red Sea so they could cross safely (Exodus 14:21-22).
As they continued their journey toward the Promised Land, there were multiple times when the Israelites complained about one thing or another. Each time, God provided for them and took care of their needs.
A few months into their journey, they came to Mount Sinai, where God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. Once again, the Israelites showed their lack of trust in God and decided to take matters into their own hands. While Moses was receiving the tablets and instructions from God, the people decided they needed a golden calf to worship instead (Exodus 32:1-6).
Their lack of faith in God and their inability to recognize His blessings did not go well for them.
Eventually, they reached the land Canaan, which God had been promised them. Moses picked a man from each of the twelve tribes to go into the land and scout it out. After forty days, the men returned with a report of a wonderful land flowing with milk and honey. But they also reported seeing fortified cities and some big, intimidating people. Ten of the spies began convincing the Israelites that they shouldn’t go in.
Once again, the people didn’t trust God. Their lack of faith caused them to complain and do stupid (Numbers 14:1-4). Joshua and Caleb, two of the twelve spies, tried to convince the people that they should trust God and move forward. But the people would not listen.
God was ready to strike the Israelites with a plague and destroy them, but Moses interceded for the people, and God pardoned them. However, their lack of faith and failure to recognize the blessing God had placed before them came at a cost. None of the generation that left Egypt would enter the Promised Land, except for Joshua and Caleb (Numbers 14:20-30).
As Moses approached the end of his life, he needed a successor. Someone would have to lead the people into the next chapter of their journey. God told Moses to pass that responsibility and blessing on to Joshua (Numbers 27:18-23).
God had given the Israelites a big dream in the form of the Promised Land. Joshua had faith and believed God would fulfill that promise. He got to see that dream become reality.
We need to listen to God, not the world. We need to believe and have faith, even when things get difficult. We need to see the blessings we have been given and be willing to share them with others.
God gives us big goals and calls us to do things that may seem bigger than we are. We have to trust Him enough to take the first step.