Creator, Father, King #66

Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you.

WHEN YOU PICTURE MOSES in your mind, what do you see? A bold speaker confronting Pharaoh, one of the most powerful men in the ancient world? A formidable leader guiding more than a million Hebrew slaves out of Egypt? A zealously righteous man hurling the Ten Commandments down Mount Sinai at the sight of Israel’s idolatry?

These are often how artists portray Moses. And yes, he certainly was all these things.

But not at the beginning.

The first biblical glimpses we get of Moses are not very flattering. Before he did anything remarkable for God, Moses murdered an Egyptian labor foreman, hid the body, and fled to Midian (Exodus 2:11-15). Years later, when God called him from the burning bush to lead Israel out of Egypt, Moses made lots of excuses not to go (Exodus 3:1–4:17). Even after he became the leader of Israel’s Exodus, he still struggled with anger and pride, to the point of rebelling against God in the wilderness and being banished from entering the Promised Land (Numbers 20:2-13; Deuteronomy 34).

What’s It Mean?

This isn’t “National Pick On Moses Day.” Moses was a godly man. In fact, Deuteronomy 34:10 says, “The LORD knew [him] face to face.” But he had a lot of faults, just like we do. Here’s the point: if God can use a guy like Moses, think of how God can use you!

Too often, we err by thinking that God only uses “super-Christians”—people who somehow were already spiritually mature when God called them. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Look at today’s verse. God loves calling weak, ordinary people (like us) to join his mission and accomplish extraordinary things for his Kingdom by his power. That way, we grow in his grace, and God gets all the glory.

God is calling you now—perhaps in a few ways, but at the very least, through this book! You might not be wise, powerful, or wealthy in the world’s eyes. That doesn’t matter to God. Moses wasn’t either, and look how the Lord used him. A true servant of God humbly admits he or she is nothing without God but everything with him.

Follow God’s calling and watch his power work in your life!

Now What?

Read 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 to see how God loves using the weak to accomplish mighty things.

Did You Know?

Moses is mentioned by name in nearly half of the Bible’s sixty-six books.