I love the story of Moses. There are so many things about his life that resonate with me. Talk about a life full of ups and downs! He went from a baby who shouldn’t have been born, to a prince of Egypt, to a fugitive on the run, and finally, to a humble man that God used to establish an entire nation. It’s truly amazing to see how the hand of God works, even when it makes no sense to us.
Although we don’t know much about Moses as he was growing up, Acts 7:22 says, “Moses was educated in all of the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful of in speech and action.” If I read between the lines a bit, it’s safe to say that Moses was pretty full of himself. He had the best of the best. Every man wanted to be like Moses. Every girl wanted to date Moses.
One day, he saw a fellow Hebrew being beaten by an Egyptian, so Moses came to his rescue and killed the Egyptian. Exodus doesn’t say much about it, but Acts 7:25 says that Moses assumed that the people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they didn’t. Moses believed that it was his time to shine. He thought to himself, “this is my moment!” But instead, Moses’ timing wasn’t God’s timing and as a result, Moses spent 40 years as a fugitive in the desert with a bunch of sheep.
I believe that time in the desert was the most important time in Moses’ life. It was there that God was stripping away the layers of pride, self-reliance, and vanity. God was chipping away and shaping him into what God wanted. When it was time, God said in Exodus 3:9, “I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” Moses’ response wasn’t “it’s about time!” He didn’t say, “God, I was ready forty years ago but You were asleep at the wheel!” Instead, Moses responded in verse 11 by saying “who am I?” My translation…”you got the wrong guy.” It was at that moment that God’s perfect plan had achieved its purpose.
For God would use Moses to deliver Israel not because he was mighty in speech and action, but because he came to realize his need and dependency on God. It was God’s strength that allowed Moses to stand before the greatest empire at that time and demand that the Israelites go free. It was God’s power that allowed Moses to cross the Red Sea on dry ground.
I’ll wrap it up with this…back in the desert God told Moses to take off his shoes. I had heard that story hundreds of times and never thought too much about it. But there is an incredible lesson in that simple act. For back in that day, people didn’t go to the local shoe store to get shoes; they made them with there own hands. I believe that through that act, God was telling Moses “stop standing on what you created and stand on what I created.” For he was standing on what God spoke into existence. It’s time for us to stop depending on our own strength and abilities, and pray that God’s power be extended through our lives.
Pastor Greg
P.S. Parents – be sure and read the 100 Day Challenge Kid Blog with your kids – click here
P.P.S. EVERYONE – Come check out our Saturday evening Service tonight @ our Weddington Campus. The service begins @ 6:00 pm – plenty of time for you and your family to enjoy a family night afterwords AND to sleep in on Sunday. Hope to see you there!
Greg leads the teams that create the unique worship experiences at Southbrook. You’ll see him frequently singing and playing his guitar at the Weddington Campus.