I’m fully aware of the fact that Moses wasn’t a perfect servant of God.
He had a temper problem that nearly cost him his life in Egypt and later cost him the privilege of entering the Promised Land.
He was a procrastinator who initially kept putting off God’s call to lead Israel with one excuse after another. That same character flaw nearly led to his death when he ignored God’s command to circumcise his son.
He had workaholic tendencies that were prompting him to approach burn-out because — for a time — he wouldn’t delegate leadership responsibilities to capable men under his authority.
God patiently led Moses through these seasons of imperfection, however. The result was the successful mission of leading the people of Israel from Egypt through the wilderness and to the brink of the Promised Land.
Moses knew he wasn’t perfect, I’m sure.
He knew that if the purposes of God were to be accomplished in his life, then he needed the Presence of God within his life.
The people today who accomplish much for God are those who tightly embrace this truth.
I want to accomplish more for God than I have.
That means that I need the Presence of God more in my life than I’ve had.
This doesn’t mean that I haven’t loved God or served God or pleased God.
Instead, it means that I recognize Satan’s continual adding to the challenges I face in my personal life and in my ministry life.
That being the case, I need to keep adding room in my heart for God’s Presence so that I can know that He that is within me is greater than he that is in the world (I John 4:4).
A passage from today’s One-Year Bible reading prompted this Morning Devotion. In Exodus 33, Moses tells God that the job of leading the stiff-necked Israelites was too much of a hassle for him to do it alone through his own mass-management strategies.
Then Moses cuts to the chase.
“If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” (Exodus 33:15-16).
Moses was at his strongest as a leader when he remembered that success came from God’s strength, not his own.
Moses knew that the challenge before him would only be accomplished if God were providing not only the purpose, but also the power IN PERSON.
Simply put, Moses knew that he needed divine help if his mission were to be accomplished.
He needed God’s leading for going the right direction.
He needed God’s protection for times when the enemy was strong.
He needed God’s forgiveness for times when he dropped the ball.
He needed God’s provision when he ran out of bright ideas on how to feed hunger and satisfy thirsts.
Without God’s help, Moses would be like so many other leaders of nations around him who were famous for a time and then disappeared without a lasting, world-changing legacy.
Without God’s help, the Old Testament’s greatest appointment with blessing would become the Old Testament’s greatest disappointment of missed blessing.
Like I said, Moses wasn’t perfect. That’s why I’m SO grateful that Moses thirsted so deeply with the Sovereign Lord who was, and is, and always will be perfect.
That’s why it is essential that I learn from Moses’ words in Exodus 33:15-16. My ability to move forward in ministry leadership will hinge on my embracing of Moses’ plea.
Join with me in humbly offering this prayer to God when you face challenges in life such as a looming career change, an upcoming marriage, the birth of a child, a geographical relocation, a new volunteer role in a congregation or a Christ-glorifying effort to lead a friend to salvation:
“If your Presence does not go with me, do not send me up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me unless you go with me? What else will distinguish me from all the other people on the face of the earth?”
Believers can’t do what God wants on their own strength. For how would that bring glory to God?
Let’s learn what Moses learned. More good will be accomplished for God as we do.
And the world will realize that there is something different about how and why we live.
As always, I love you
Martin
