By Melanie Rigney

 

 

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?” ~Exodus 3:11

Moses knew his limitations. He had a speech impediment. He was wanted in Egypt for murder. His leadership skills were at best untested, at worst lacking. He was a simple shepherd. God knew Moses’ limitations even better than Moses himself. Small wonder, then, that Moses questioned the Lord’s wisdom in selecting him for this challenging mission.

What Moses had lost sight of momentarily was that there are no limitations when God’s plan is involved. God’s answer was five words: “I will be with you.”

Believing that, the simple shepherd with the speech impediment became the instrument God used for breaking Pharaoh’s resistance and freeing the Israelites. That simple shepherd with the speech impediment kept the people through forty years in the desert amid strife. He died in sight of the promised land.

Moses was a humble man. We value humility as a virtue. But it becomes the inverse of pride when we misuse it to avoid what we know God desires of us, what we know we are equipped to do with God’s help.

We put off going to see a chronically ill friend. We say, “I’m no good with sick people” when what we really mean is, “I’m scared to be reminded of my own mortality” or “I don’t want to think about what my life will look like after she’s dead.”

We refrain from providing our children with loving correction. We say, “Kids will be kids” when what we really mean is, “I’m afraid they won’t like me anymore if I enforce curfew” or “I broke the rules all the time and survived, and I don’t want to be a hypocrite.”

We ignore that voice urging us to share our faith journey. We say, “I’m nobody special” when what we really mean is, “I’m afraid people will think less of me if they knew the mess I was in before Jesus took the wheel” or “I have no training in writing or speaking.”

Be like Moses. Visit that friend. Be a true parent to your children. Share your story. Believe God is and will be with you.

 

Prayer

Lord, sometimes what I pretend is humility is really fear, inertia, or resentment. Please open my soul and heart to your mission for me. Help me to believe that with you, I can do anything.

Call to Action

Say yes to doing that piece of ministry, forgiving that friend, listening to that relative that God has been nudging you about.

 

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