This is probably not as in depth as my last “lessons,” but I wanted to
bring up this really intriguing thing God showed me as I have been reading
through the book of Exodus. If you have not read my other “lessons” about
Exodus, check out God 101 and Exodus 101. Then come on back here. Or you could
read this one, then jump back to the others. Up to you. I am not in control of
your blog-reading tactics. And I am definitely not one for sports analogies,
but here we go…
bring up this really intriguing thing God showed me as I have been reading
through the book of Exodus. If you have not read my other “lessons” about
Exodus, check out God 101 and Exodus 101. Then come on back here. Or you could
read this one, then jump back to the others. Up to you. I am not in control of
your blog-reading tactics. And I am definitely not one for sports analogies,
but here we go…
In junior high school I tried to
play basketball. There is a huge emphasis on that “tried,” as it simply was not
what I was called to do in my life. I never really watched basketball on TV,
and even when my friend Jacob Hoyer is talking about the NBA nowadays, I make
jokes about Shaquille O’Neal still playing for the Orlando Magic, and “Muggsy”
Bogues still playing for the Charlotte Hornets. Needless to say, my basketball
career was on its way downhill fast.
play basketball. There is a huge emphasis on that “tried,” as it simply was not
what I was called to do in my life. I never really watched basketball on TV,
and even when my friend Jacob Hoyer is talking about the NBA nowadays, I make
jokes about Shaquille O’Neal still playing for the Orlando Magic, and “Muggsy”
Bogues still playing for the Charlotte Hornets. Needless to say, my basketball
career was on its way downhill fast.
One thing I noticed quickly on my
community-education basketball team was a pretty simple lesson: If you play
well, you get to play a lot, and you might even become a “captain.” If you do
not play well, most likely you will have a real nice view of the game from the
bench. If you do not rise up to what it takes to be a great basketball player,
Coach is quick to pull you out so that a better player can win the game.
community-education basketball team was a pretty simple lesson: If you play
well, you get to play a lot, and you might even become a “captain.” If you do
not play well, most likely you will have a real nice view of the game from the
bench. If you do not rise up to what it takes to be a great basketball player,
Coach is quick to pull you out so that a better player can win the game.
Moses was not very good at
basketball. And I am not sure he had his dreams set on being a leader, either.
In Exodus 3-4, God is basically saying that Moses is going to rise up to be a
leader in liberating the Israelites from the Egyptians. God speaks a bunch of
encouragement and life into Moses, assuring him that everything will work out
great, because God has the whole thing under control.
basketball. And I am not sure he had his dreams set on being a leader, either.
In Exodus 3-4, God is basically saying that Moses is going to rise up to be a
leader in liberating the Israelites from the Egyptians. God speaks a bunch of
encouragement and life into Moses, assuring him that everything will work out
great, because God has the whole thing under control.
Moses does not believe this and
is very quick to vocalize his doubts about the whole thing. He complains that
he is bad at speaking and would be a terrible leader. God says, “It’s all good,
Moses. I will give you words to speak.” But Moses asks that God pick someone
else. He is not ready for something this big. So God finally gets annoyed with
Moses enough and says Moses can use his brother Aaron to get this stuff done.
is very quick to vocalize his doubts about the whole thing. He complains that
he is bad at speaking and would be a terrible leader. God says, “It’s all good,
Moses. I will give you words to speak.” But Moses asks that God pick someone
else. He is not ready for something this big. So God finally gets annoyed with
Moses enough and says Moses can use his brother Aaron to get this stuff done.
But here is when things get a
little crazy. Instead of taking Moses out of the “captains” position, or even
kicking him off the team, God says this in Exodus 4:16:
little crazy. Instead of taking Moses out of the “captains” position, or even
kicking him off the team, God says this in Exodus 4:16:
“[Aaron] 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.“
your mouth and as if you were God to
him.“
What? God just gave the worst kid
on the team the position of Head Coach (like God)! How does that work? It is a good thing no one was in that
cave with God and Moses, because the rest of the team would have been pissed.
on the team the position of Head Coach (like God)! How does that work? It is a good thing no one was in that
cave with God and Moses, because the rest of the team would have been pissed.
But it turns out to be an amazing plan (as most plans are with God). You notice at first that God
speaks about the plagues with Moses, and then Moses tells Aaron to “tell
Pharoah.” Moses uses Aaron as his spokesman from Exodus 4:29 all the way to the
plague of gnats in chapter 8. God keeps telling Moses, “Tell Aaron,” and Moses
is kind of the support for Aaron. But then starting at 8:20 Moses starts
speaking on his own behalf and begins to own his position of leader for the
Israelites. From then on Moses is doing the stuff, speaking the stuff, living
the stuff. He rises up into who God intended him to be. It is awesome!
speaks about the plagues with Moses, and then Moses tells Aaron to “tell
Pharoah.” Moses uses Aaron as his spokesman from Exodus 4:29 all the way to the
plague of gnats in chapter 8. God keeps telling Moses, “Tell Aaron,” and Moses
is kind of the support for Aaron. But then starting at 8:20 Moses starts
speaking on his own behalf and begins to own his position of leader for the
Israelites. From then on Moses is doing the stuff, speaking the stuff, living
the stuff. He rises up into who God intended him to be. It is awesome!
So God did not kick Moses off the
team for not believing in himself (Grace). God actually increased the
responsibility for Moses, and because he experienced leadership over Aaron,
Moses rose up into what he was originally called to do. As my dear friend Jimmy
McCarty would say, “Brilliant!” God did not baby Moses into his leadership
position; he pushed Moses harder until he realized his true potential.
team for not believing in himself (Grace). God actually increased the
responsibility for Moses, and because he experienced leadership over Aaron,
Moses rose up into what he was originally called to do. As my dear friend Jimmy
McCarty would say, “Brilliant!” God did not baby Moses into his leadership
position; he pushed Moses harder until he realized his true potential.
This is the God I call, “Father.”
This is the God who created me. This is the God who calls me closer to Him and into
deeper places of responsibility and leadership. Even when I feel like I do not
have what it takes, God is going to continue calling me, and He will continue
trusting me with greater things until I finally just start walking in Him.
This is the God who created me. This is the God who calls me closer to Him and into
deeper places of responsibility and leadership. Even when I feel like I do not
have what it takes, God is going to continue calling me, and He will continue
trusting me with greater things until I finally just start walking in Him.
