The Bible gives us many examples of people who thought they could not be used by God because they were not fit for the task… they felt inadequate. My brother, my sister, are you feeling inadequate to be used by God? Then you may be the right candidate for Him. Just look at this: The Hebrew people were slaves in Egypt. Among them, there must have been many brave and bold men. But they were not suitable for God’s purposes. God wanted Moses… while Moses felt weak, inadequate. But God knew that Moses was the right man to do the job. The same thing happened when God called Gideon (Judges 6:12-16). The same thing happened when He called Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:6-8). And of course, the best example is obviously that of apostle Paul. That is the reason why Paul reminds us this: “Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Corinthians 3:5-6).
My friend, like many great men of the Bible, we sometimes make excuses. Moses had five ‘good’ ones – good excuses for man, not for God. He said he was not important enough for the task: “But Moses said to God, Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11). Then He asked God “what shall I tell them?” (Exodus 3:13). After he accepted his mission anyway, now Moses started worrying about his lack of the necessary qualities and asked God: “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” (Exodus 4:1). My friend, Moses was full of doubts just like many believers are sometimes too. He was not sure of being able to do what God was asking Him to do. Isn’t it the same for us when we give in to doubts? Yes, doubts will stop us being successful in our service for God, because they lead us to focus on our limitations, not on God’s big picture.
Now, as we read through Exodus 4, we see that Moses still had many excuses that he used one after the other: I am not a good speaker (Exodus 4:10)… you can find someone better than me, so “Please send someone else” (Exodus 4:13). My friend, God knows us better than ourselves. The lesson we should learn today is that, God does not take our excuses into account, for when time has come for His purpose to be fulfilled in or through our lives.We don’t need to focus on ourselves, for He is the one empowering us for it. Thus, to Moses’ excuses, He answered this: “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” (Exodus 4:11-12).
Yes, every Christian should be humble. But it is bad to have no sense of our worth. Perhaps you have tried to avoid serving God in the same ways as Moses. Perhaps you feel inadequate. If you do, then remember Moses, Paul, Gideon and may be it is time just like young Samuel you answer the Lord simply by: “Speak, for your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:10). Stay blessed in Jesus’ name.