If Moses were alive today, he might possibly be some type of hipster activist. He was a go-getter. He cared about injustice, and he was willing to do something about it, put his neck on the line. The Egyptians were cruelly oppressing his people, the Israelites, so Moses stepped in and defended one of his fellow countrymen. He killed an Egyptian slave-driver, but then he got found out by Pharaoh. The classic hero turned fugitive had to flee from his own country in fear. (Story found in Exodus 2-3).
The divine irony of it all is that this desire to save his people was put there by God. In fact, God crafted Moses’ upbringing so that he was uniquely equipped to lead His people out of slavery. But instead of backing him up when Moses is on the run, God seems to hang him out to dry, staying silent while Moses’ face is printed on the “Wanted” posters. What gives?
Though it’s true that Moses’ calling and upbringing were from God to accomplish Israel’s great exodus from Egypt, at this point in the story, Moses does not yet have the anointing of God to do the job. Moses took matters into his own hands. He did not wait for God’s timing. He did not wait for God to initiate the solution.
This is a hard lesson to learn, especially for would-be world changers. I am guilty of this. I see a need in the world, a great injustice. (There are a multitude to out there, so it’s not hard to choose.) I decide I need to do something about it. I “kind of” check in with God but then set out in my own timing, my own way, and my own design to abolish whatever evil I have my sights set on. I may make a small dent in the fortress of evil but overall, I fail miserably.
God had a plan. God always has a plan. Perhaps God was waiting for the current pharaoh of Moses’ childhood to die. Perhaps he was waiting for the conditions in Egypt to be right. Or maybe God was waiting for Moses to be ready. Whatever the reason, when Moses ventured out on his own to save his people, he did so without the help of God.
But God did not give up on Moses. The Bible says that the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable, (Romans 11:29).
God will not take back His calling for your life or the gifts He’s given you to accomplish that calling.
After Moses spends significant time in the wilderness (a typical bootcamp to make one ready for his mission), God calls Moses aside and tells him it’s time for the saving to begin.
By this point, Moses is totally discouraged. Where he was once ready to take on the whole of Egypt single-handedly, now he is convinced he’s not the man for the job. This is exactly the type of attitude that God needs to form a true hero. Because Moses believes beyond a shadow of a doubt that on his own he could never complete the mission God is giving him to do, he is a prime candidate to do just that- save Egypt.
The rest is history. God and Moses accomplish the greatest jail break ever.
God-missions done in God-timing and carried out in God-ways always bring about God-results!
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