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[God said:] “So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” …
But Moses said to God, “What shall I say to them?” …
Then Moses answered, “But suppose they do not believe me?” …
But Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I have never been eloquent … but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” …
But he said, “O my Lord, please send someone else.” …
But Moses spoke to the Lord, “The Israelites have not listened to me; how then shall Pharaoh listen to me, poor speaker that I am?”
—Exodus 3:10-11, 13; 4:1, 10, 13; 6:12
One of the most discouraging aspects of our Christian lives can be our awareness that we are not responding to God’s call to us as we should. It can be sobering to look back over our lives and realize that our progress has been uneven and slow. We may remember specific instances in which we didn’t respond to an invitation from God and wonder how our lives would be different now if we had.
We can also be pained by our awareness that we are not responding to God right now as we should. Perhaps we hear the word of the Lord addressed to us through Scripture or through a homily but don’t experience the word sinking into us and having an impact. Sometimes we can’t even remember afterward what Scripture passage was read or what the homilist said. At other times we may experience a resistance in ourselves to what we hear—a hardness of heart that turns away God’s word.
Such an awareness can give rise to discouragement: “I have always been this way—halfhearted, uncertain, lukewarm—and I’m afraid I always will be.” We see others around us eagerly responding to God’s call; we wish we were as quick and wholehearted in our response.
Scripture was written for our encouragement as well as our instruction. This encouragement is often conveyed through the lives of those whom God has called in the past.
Moses was the greatest leader of the Old Testament. His work, more than that of any other, was responsible for transforming the descendents of Abraham into the people of God. Yet Moses’ response to God’s call was not always eager and wholehearted. In the Old Testament account Moses repeatedly argued with God, trying to get out of doing the service God asked of him. Moses objected that he didn’t have the gifts to do what God wanted, and he pleaded with God to “please send someone else.” We may have had similar conversations in prayer when we felt that we weren’t quite up to the challenge of what God seemed to be asking of us.
If God could carry out his greatest work before the coming of Christ through such a reluctant servant as Moses, he can carry out his will through us despite our uneven response. That’s not to say that our response isn’t important, but rather that God doesn’t depend on our perfection. God asks us to make whatever response we are able to, while giving us the capability to grow in our response through his love.
God’s invitation is not an impossible standard that we could never meet; God does not want his message to discourage us. God is saying to us, “Take heart! I did great things with Moses, and I can do great things even with you. Don’t center your attention on your own shortcomings. Focus on my love, and move on with me.”
Questions for Reflection
1. Have you ever experienced a turning point in your relationship with God? What immediate impact did it have on you? What is its impact today?
2. Do you ever marvel that God chose you? That God loves you? That God invites you to everlasting life? If you sometimes find these truths difficult to believe, what could help you better internalize them?
3. What are the simple things Jesus asks of you? What is the most difficult thing he has asked you to do? What might he be asking of you now, so that you may follow more closely in his footsteps?
4. What are the particular gifts and talents that God has given you? What are you doing to use them in his service? What is the greatest risk you have taken through faith?
5. Have you ever pleaded with God to get out of what he was asking of you? What was the outcome? What encouragement do you find in the story of Moses?
An excerpt from Your Word Speaks to Me.