Encounters with God. Moses heard his calling from the Lord at the burning bush. It was a significant task. Moses was told to go back to Pharoah to bring God’s people the Israelites out of Egypt. That is where they were in slavery. Pharoah was a powerful man. Imagine being told to confront the most powerful ruler in the world. He has alliances. He has weapons. He has ways to make your life miserable if he does not respond favorably to your confrontive words. And Moses thought of excuses why he should not go. God gave him one good reason to go. “I will be with you.” God calms our fears by assuring us of His presence. As Romans 8 says, “If God is for me, who can be against me.”
But still Moses is not convinced. Here are some excuses Moses uses to not go.
“Who am I?” Moses felt small compared to Pharoah’s stature.
“What if they don’t believe me or listen to me?” Moses wondered about his ability to persuade people he was doing this for God. He was looking for an explanation to take to the people.
“I have never been eloquent. I am slow of speech and tongue.” How will people view me seriously if I trip over my words. God said, “I will help you speak and teach you what to say.
“Lord, please send someone else to do it.” OK, so Moses has run out of excuses, and says, “Not really interested in the job. Thanks, but no thanks.”
Then, God offers help through his brother Aaron. If we ever felt unqualified to do something hard, we can probably relate to Moses’ response. But God reminds us of His sufficiency for the tasks He calls us to do. His grace is stronger than our weaknesses. His grace helps us to move forward with God’s plan.