Discovering God's Call
One of the greatest struggles I’ve run into when I was in youth ministry was getting students to believe that God can and will use them to do something great for His Kingdom. Many students doubt God would be interested in using them, and even more question what they have to offer God.
It seems as though the students who never respond to God’s call, or never exercise their spiritual gifts, are the same students who graduate from the youth group and their faith. But those who have answered God’s call and are open and available to serve, are the ones who continue to walk with the Lord. The ones who that don’t do this seem to wander from church to church in their college community looking for a group that “feels” like the group they left, while those who open themselves to God’s call are also open to new ministry opportunities and more likely to use their gifts to continue serving God.
Moses had a rocky past and didn’t really think he was God’s man for the job. But as he spoke one-on-one with God it became clear that he couldn’t wander from God’s call. God used a “marked” past to mark this man for a future task. As you study more, you will probably realize you’re a lot more like Moses than you ever thought.
1. God saw in Moses something Moses didn’t see in himself.
Moses is not only one of God’s most incredible creations, he
is the lead character in one of the Bible's most amazing events. God used Moses to do incredible things and yet he was a man who had significant flaws working against him. Not only did he kill someone (Exodus 2:11), but he was targeted to be killed (2:15). Now, murder is not a minor crime or character flaw. He made Moses a wanted man…for all the wrong reasons. God saw something in Moses that Moses didn’t see in himself. God saw a humble man with tremendous leadership potential. And in spite of his marred past, God chose him. This same truth is very relevant to you. God sees in you incredible things you may not see in yourself.
2. Moses questioned God’s call with excuses.
God had big things planned when he announced that Moses was His chosen person to save the Israelites from captivity in Egypt.
But instead of jumping for joy, Moses responded with questions and excuses. Moses’ first response was classic: “I am not a great man! Why should I be the one to go to the king and lead the Israelites out of Egypt?”(3:11) God then reassured Moses of His power by explaining not only who He is but what He can do. Even this didn’t seem to increase Moses’ confidence since he asked, “What if the people of Israel do not believe me or listen to me?”
One of the reasons I love Moses is that he’s one of several examples of ordinary people that God used to do extraordinary things. This is a great opportunity for us to see that Moses was fearful, cautious, and questioning. Probably a lot like us. But Moses’ doubts and excuses didn’t disqualify him from the work God had for him to do.
3. God proved himself faithful.
The obstacles were huge, the numbers of Egyptian soldiers were overwhelming, and yet God proved himself faithful to his promise. He used miracles, plagues, and a pretty cool water-maneuver to support Moses.
When we “step-out” on faith and answer God’s call to do something great we step into a vital relationship. This is the relationship between our faith in God and God’s faithfulness to us. They seem to follow one another. And they produce miraculous results.