Word of Encouragement (06/22/2022)

Pastor James
June 22, 2022

But Moses said to the LORD, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” (Ex. 4:10),

When Moses asked God how he could prove to the people of Israel that their God had really sent him, God showed Him a few miracles. God promised to perform the same miracles in front of the people if they questioned Moses’ words. Even so, Moses managed to come up with another excuse: he was not a good speaker.

Does this seem like a legitimate excuse? Moses’ words show a mistake we often make when it comes to various opportunities to serve God. We think that, when God calls us to do something, either by convicting our hearts by the Holy Spirit or by the urging of others, it is because He needs our abilities and skills. And if we think that we don’t have what it takes to do the job, we politely decline, thinking that we are only being humble. Is that so? What is true humility—to say to God, “I don’t think I can do it!” when He gives us a task or to answer that call and do our best to carry it out as we call upon the Lord to help us do the work He has called us to do?

This is not to deny the importance of training and equipping ourselves to do whatever God calls us to do with competence. “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15); “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17); “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ...” (Eph. 4:11-12). And when we call men in the name of God to serve as officers, we must consider their qualifications (1 Tim. 3:1-13).

But just because we are in some ways “qualified” doesn’t mean we are “adequate” to do the work of God (2 Cor. 2:15-16). We are serving the God of perfection and holiness. How can our work, done with our creaturely limitations and tainted hands and impure motives, meet His perfect standard? If it can please God in any way, it is because 1) He is sovereign and wise to use our works that are fraught with imperfections and impurities for His perfect will; 2) the Holy Spirit applies the blood of Christ to cleanse our impurities and Christ’s perfect righteousness to cover our imperfections.

So, when God calls us to do anything in His service or in the service of others, we should not think that God called us because we are “all that”! It is not because we are “adequate” for the job; it is certainly not because we are better than others. Sometimes, God will use us to show that “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong...” (1 Cor. 1:27). With this perspective in view, we should remain humble when we do God’s work, especially in a position of authority and prestige, of course, but in everything as well. We are all serving the Lord Jesus Christ and we should not lord it over others.

To our sovereign God, our availability is more valuable than our competency, our willingness than our talents. Our limitations and weaknesses are no excuse. Do we think that God is calling us because He didn’t know that about us? He is able and willing to strengthen and supply us with all that we need to do His work when we make ourselves available to Him and dependent on Him. What is He calling you to do today, which may be out of your comfort zone? How will you respond?