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.

Lack of Faith?

A friend told me that she was raised in a religion of rules and although she knows and believes the gospel, she struggles with “being good enough” and with believing that God hears and answers her prayers. Even though there is spiritual fruit in her life and she does trust Jesus for salvation, she is in constant need of affirmation regarding almost everything else that God promises.

 Today’s reading is written with the same attitude. The author says, “We have failed to believe that God is the God of all comfort — It has seemed too good to be true” and uses terms like “our poor suspicious natures” and being frightened about the promise of His comfort“ — all ideas that are foreign to faith. This author even suggests this attitude comes from a tendency to consider God as a “stern, unbending judge, holding us at a distance and demanding our respectful homage as He criticizes our slightest faults.”

At the end, the reading says, ‘But I rejoice to say that that stern judge does not exist.” Which is also not true. He exists. However, He poured out His wrath on His Son that we might be recipients of His amazing comfort.

Of course we are not good enough. Ever, never. Jesus is our righteousness. The gospel is our primary comfort because Jesus died for my sin, all of it…

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1–2)

While the Bible is filled with commands to “fear God” these are about awe and worship for those who trust Him, not the terror of being rejected. For Christians, that fear is not from God: “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7). Later, it says one reason for such a fear:

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. (1 John 4:18)

Fear comes when I forget the power and extent of God’s love, when I stop relying on the cross and put confidence in my own works — which are insufficient and never will do the job. That being true, why then fall into such a trap? The Bible speaks to that problem:

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom. (Proverbs 11:2)

Human pride is at the root of thinking I can save myself or be good enough, and pride is most difficult to detect and even more difficult to confess. Pride does not want to say “I am not able” nor admit it — even to me, never mind God. Yet think of it; if I am not trusting God, why not? Like a petulant child, I’m thinking I can do it all by myself. And for that, the God of all grace is more concerned to deal with my lack of humility than to give me comfort over my fears and foibles.

PRAY: Lord Jesus, pride in me is a number one faith-destroyer, and a total insult to Almighty God. It breaks my heart to see it in others, but even seeing it in someone else can contribute to the same problem in myself. Guard my heart. I know I’m to humble myself before You and even rejoice in my weaknesses, for it is only then do I see the wonder of Your strength.

Intense Spiritual War Calls for Intense Faith

This week we had to take two vehicles to a particular destination. I followed in my car and my husband led in his. I thought I knew where to go, but had to trust him if he went another route. He knows the city streets better than I do. For me, this is a small illustration of faith.

To put it in terms of faith in God, there is a difference between saying “I trust God” and “I trust God to keep me healthy” or “I trust God to get me a job” or any other trust that is based on a specific something that I want. I can tell God what I would like, but intense faith is not about me telling Him what to do.

A few weeks ago I started praying for perfect weather for our son’s outdoor wedding. Then I realized that while specific prayers are not sinful, it seemed wiser to ask God to give us the kind of day that He thought best. I know that if God had a reason for rain (it happened the day before) or heavy smoke from wildfires (it happened the day after), then in faith I must trust His will, whatever happened. This time, the weather was perfect and the only day that week with that perfection. Besides, trusting Him totally always brings glory to Him, not to my praying ability!

I’m thinking that “whatever You want faith” is a big shield. Specific ‘I wants’ do not protect me. Had I asked for perfection and didn’t get it, doubts would creep in. Did I pray wrong? Did God hear me? Does God care? Leaving the choice up to God takes intense faith, particularly when what happens might not be what I wanted. However, trusting Him no matter what is the faith that fights the enemy’s lies.

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one. (Ephesians 6:16)

Solders need to be dressed in armor to protect themselves, but they must also use that protective gear. It does no good if I is leaned against a wall. When I pray, I am going to battle. My faith is not about telling God what to do, or persuading God to do what I think is the right thing. It is about being yielded to Him and resisting the enemy, that relentless evil one that wants me to quit fighting and be defeated. He throws those flaming darts with greater force when I think God should do this or that, but when I leave the choice up to God, the devil cannot overpower the choices that God makes.

Ephesians 6:16 is a reminder to not forget my shield. I can pray with great confidence in my God who can do anything, but telling Him how to do it is not faith; it is being His advisor — a role reversal that essential says, ‘Trust me, God. I know how to fix this problem.’

An added thought: MacArthur describes two types of shields used by Roman soldiers. One was small and used during hand-to-hand combat. The other was metal and large. It deflected arrows and was surfaced with oily leather that extinguished arrows that were swabbed in pitch and set on fire. Front-line soldiers knelt behind these shields to protect themselves and provide a defense for the troops behind them. They moved forward like a wall until they could engage the enemy in hand-to-hand combat. This suggests that my prayers begin to be effective as I protect myself from the lies that the enemy throws at me. One of his most effective is the lie that I always know what God should do. Faith says, “no matter what . . . .” and trusts His choice.

PRAY: Jesus, in reality, I know nothing about spiritual things unless Your Spirit reveals it to me. To tell You what I would like You to do may be an okay prayer, yet those requests often come out as the only thing that is acceptable to me. This is faith in me and my ideas, not faith in You. Besides all that, praying that way means I will miss Your wonderful surprises!

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20–21)

PONDER: What does Philippians 1:29–30 say about the will of God? Would I ask for that? How about the promises of Romans 8:31-39? Does this describe my faith?