Skilled or not — I must trust God

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.” Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him. And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs.” (Exodus 4:10–17)

How many times have I answered God with, “But I don’t know what to say”? Do I really think that God cannot give me the words? Or am I more worried about knowing them ahead of time? I  even tend to ‘rehearse’ as if that is how He teaches me.

Not too long ago, someone came with a prayer request. As I prayed, words came to mind. When finished, the other person said, “Oh thank you. Now I know what to do.” I didn’t tell her what to do, just prayed what came to mind. I’ve no idea what happened in that conversation except the words prayed were what God wanted her to hear.

So simple. It was not blurted out or random and unrelated, but somehow the Holy Spirit took the words and used them. Not telling me ahead of time what those words should be was wise. I would likely have turned them into a boast, “Look at what I said” and even a habit for the next prayer request.

The neat part of the above OT dialog is that God reminded Moses that He made his mouth. If He wanted mute, He could do that. When He wanted words, He could do that too. The trouble with Moses is that he rated his speaking skills on his own ability instead of God's power.

Another neat thing is that God went to where Moses was. The man didn’t have faith that God could supply what he didn’t have, so He pulled Aaron out as one who could speak well, as if that was needed, but made it clear that the words he said would not come from that man’s ability to speak either. The words would come from God.

This passage speaks to me not just about words but about anything God wants me to do. I go for a driver’s test this morning and am nervous about passing it. From this encounter Moses had with God, I can trust God. If He wants me to pass it, I will. If not, He has good reasons.

Jesus, You give me Yourself and Your Spirit. That is enough. Rather than ‘send someone else’ just keep reminding me of Your wisdom, grace, and power. If You want something, nothing can stop it. If You don’t, my power or lack thereof remain helpless, no matter my skill-level.