TRUST THE LORD

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

"Moses answered, "What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'The Lord did not appear to you'?" Then the Lord said to him, "What is that in your hand?" "A staff," he replied. The Lord said, "Throw it on the ground." Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. Then the Lord said to him, "Reach out your hand and take it by the tail." So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. "This," said the Lord, "is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you." Then the Lord said, "Put your hand inside your cloak." So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was leprous, like snow. "Now put it back into your cloak," he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh. Then the Lord said, "If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first miraculous sign, they may believe the second. But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground." Moses said to the Lord, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue." The Lord said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say." But Moses said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it." Then the Lord's anger burned against Moses and he said, "What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and his heart will be glad when he sees you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. But take this staff in your hand so you can perform miraculous signs with it." Exodus 4:1-17

Moses had a problem and it is a problem that is not uncommon in believers and non-believers alike. He didn't believe that God could truly do what He said He could do. Moses had witnessed the bush that burned but never was singed, a sign of God's miraculous power…a power that made the unconventional conventional…the impossible possible. He had heard the voice of God speaking directly to Him, assuring Him that He would be with him as he went to Egypt to carry out His will and showing Moses that He had a plan to ensure that Moses' work would be a success. Yet, despite all this, we read Moses saying to God, ""What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'The Lord did not appear to you'?" God has said to Moses, ""The elders of Israel will listen to you." He didn't say, the elders may listen to you. He said they WILL listen. But Moses was the one who wasn't listening very well. Yet, we see a very patient God dealing with him in the midst of his unbelief…or at least the Lord was patient initially.

Question: How much are you like Moses…still unwilling to trust and believe despite all of God's promises and assurances found in His word…and despite all the power He reveals every day in the miracles and wonders He performs?

Well, as Chapter 4 of Exodus begins, we see that the Lord continues to show Moses the depth of His miraculous power in an attempt to get Moses confident that he could carry out what the Lord was asking him to do. He tells Moses to throw down his staff and we read where the Lord turns it into a snake and then back into a staff as Moses grabs it by the tail. He then tells Moses to stick his hand into his cloak and then withdraw it. Moses does so only to find his hand afflicted with leprosy which miraculously disappears when he sticks his hand back into his cloak. Two miracles…two awesome displays of the Lord's ability to make anything happen that He wishes. And still He gives Moses a third option if the first two don't work. He tells him to "take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground." Surely, this would have been more than enough to convince Moses. But it wasn't.

For Moses comes up with another excuse as to why he can't do what the Lord wants, saying "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue." The Lord has yet another response to Moses telling him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say." In other words, God made Moses and every other man and woman in creation. He was the One who crafted every part of the body to carry out special functions…He was the One who ordained them to work in harmony to carry out His will. So as He tells Moses, "Who gave man his mouth?", He's talking to us as well. We need only seek Him to get the words to speak from the mouth He gave us. We need only seek the path He wants us to walk with the feet He placed under us. We need only trust in Him to do whatever he wants to do in and through us…and know that it will always work out to His glory.

And yet, we, like Moses, still fail. We allow our fears to overcome our faith. We're afraid to speak about the Lord to others because we're afraid that we might be rejected or ridicules or persecuted. And so we remain silent even though the Lord wants us to speak out. We're also afraid to go where the Lord wants us to go. The way ahead is sometimes so uncertain with potential dangers. Once again, we allow our anxiety and fear to get the best of us. We stand still when the Lord is wanting us to move forward. I'm sure that we, like Moses, get the Lord angry…so much so that He burns against us because of our stubborn refusal to let go and let Him have control.

The Lord, angry and frustrated, finally tells Moses that He would speak through his brother Aaron as well as him, adding that anything that Aaron said would still be received as if it came from Moses himself. In other words, the Lord's will is going to get done whether one person speaks His words or another. Trust and believe that if you stubbornly refuse to trust the Lord to use you to accomplish His will, then He will just find someone to use instead. His will is going to be accomplished one way or another. I don't know about you but I don't want to let the Lord down…the same Lord who gave us everything, including His only Son so we might be saved from our sins. If He gave us His all, shouldn't we be willing to give Him our all as well. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and soul and mind. Know He will never lead you anywhere to do anything and not be right there with you. You are not alone. God has a plan. Surrender yourself to Him and His purpose.

In Christ,

Mark

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