Moses: He Makes You "More"

"You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." These are the words of our beloved, round, honey-feeding friend, Winnie The Pooh. These words have motivated generations to believe in their capabilities. From time to time, like the ebb and flow of the ocean, there are feelings of inadequacy and incapability. Such was the case for an eighty-year-old Moses.

Moses experienced a surge of confidence when he decided to identify with his people and strike down the oppressive Egyptian (Ex 2:12). However, while he merited his actions as heroism, the people he sought to identify with viewed them as unhelpful (Ex 2:13-14). Additionally, his adoptive grandfather, Pharaoh, considered his actions to be hostile and sought to kill him (Ex 2:15). And so, we find Moses alone. While alone, he flees for Midian but carries with him three feelings: longing for his people, fear for his life, and that he was a failure.

We fast forward to God appearing to Moses as a burning bush. The manifestation was amazing, and so was the message: God would deliver His people from Egypt. This was wonderful and exciting on the surface, but it was dreadful when God revealed the part of Moses. God selected Moses to lead the people out, and Moses saw nothing but the negatives. First, Moses objected that he was not good enough (Ex 3:11). Second, he objected that he did not have all the answers (Ex 3:13). Third, he objected that he would not be believed (Ex 4:1). Fourth, he objected that he is not a good speaker (Ex 4:10). Fifth, he objected that he was unqualified (Ex 4:13). 

Moses felt entirely inadequate. "How could I possibly fulfill this task?" Well, the answer was speaking directly to him. He wasn't good enough, but God was. He didn't have all the answers, but God did. You see where this is going. God was his sufficiency, just as Paul would remind us in 2 Corinthians 3:5-6.

Is your task as a Christian hard? Is being an evangelist difficult? Is growing with the brethren tough? Definitely to all three, and to whatever else we could name as obligations of being God's people. However, "You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." And if I might add to Winnie The Pooh's statement, "because you have God as your foundation and help."