Passage[s] of the Day: Chapter/Verse Reference …Exodus 2: 15: … [God’s Cleansing Plan] ... 15 When Pharaoh heard of this [i.e., Moses killing an Egyptian slave master], he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well.
=================
Exodus 3: 1: … [Moses Transformed for God’s Purposes] … 1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
=================
Exodus 3: 10-12: … [God Speaks – Moses Balks] “ … [God speaking] … 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”
My Journal for Today: From these readings in my chronological reading plan in the initial chapters of Exodus, I respond with empathy to how God chose to use a very out-of-place descendent of the family of promise, Moses, to be His emissary of deliverance for God’s people. And to accomplish all of this, God had to strip him of his misplaced royal pride and pseudo-heritage and put Moses through a rigorous training program in the desert country of Midian so that Moses could ultimately be a leader of peoples he knew with whom he identified. He would have been a lousy deliverer if God’s chosen peoples, who were desert shepherds and nomads, had they perceived Moses to be an Egyptian prince as he had been raised to be in the palace of Pharaoh.
So, using a series of events to break Moses down, … his killing of an Egyptian slave driver, alienating him from Pharaoh and causing Moses to flee to Midian. From these experiences God began reshaping Moses for the task for which God had birthed him. Moses’ years in Midian, and transformation into the role of shepherd, merely prepared him for becoming the deliverer which God would call out Moses from the burning bush.
And wow, I really identify with all of this, because years before I was called into the ministry, God had to break me down and do a total make-over of my attitudes and people-skills so that I could be called out, anointed, and ordained to carry out the task for which God had brought me into this world to perform. It’s a long testimonial, which will go without detailed description here; but there was a time, being a “professional” in healthcare when I would have been totally unsuited for what God has led me to do as the mission for which I now see He was preparing me for years ago.
Like Moses, I had to be broken down and then rebuilt, through a long process of discipleship, … reshaped into the person He could use for the task He had purposed me. And like Moses, when I first began to learn of the path where God was leading me, I balked – big time, … feeling totally inadequate to the calling for which I recognized God calling me. But like Moses, God connected me with the right people to be my support team; and He showed me that I didn’t have to do His calling all on my own.
And though I didn’t have burning bushes, Aaron casting staffs before Pharaoh, or a series of plagues to use as communication tools, God showed me the truth – from His empowered word – of His calling being His enablement (see Isaiah 55: 11 and 1st Cor. 10: 13). So, overtime, I learned and grew in faith that God will give anyone He calls all the resources and power to carry out His anointed will.
So, I pray that wherever you are in the process of being prepared for God’s calling, … that you are growing in faith so that you can be used to fulfill God’s purpose for your life. And my friend, God most certainly does have a purpose for you; … and whatever it is, He will prepare you for it … IF … you just surrender and let Him.
My Prayer Today: … Lord, thank you for remaking me and for continuously reforming me for the task You’ve called me to perform for Your glory. Amen
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment