Exodus 3:11a – but Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go……..”

2 Corinthians 12:9 – “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

 I am drinking my coffee this morning and still smiling from the events of a conference I recently attended. I was included in a gathering of women – women of various ages and at various stages in their lives.  We laughed; we cried, and oh, how we talked!  The theme for our meeting was “words”, and there were plenty of words – words of prayer, words of sharing, words of encouragement, even a new word that sprang from a mispronunciation of another word!  At one of the sessions, glass tiles were randomly placed before us so that we could each make a necklace.  My tile had the word “believe” on it. When I saw my word tile, I had no words of my own because I am convinced that my random word tile is actually a word from You.  I am the modern day Moses of Exodus 3 and 4.  I believe in You, but I need to believe in what You can do through me.  I believe that You told me to do something, but I don’t believe I am accomplished enough to do it (Exodus 3:11).  I believe that You are above all others, but like Moses, I believe that I am too inferior to accomplish anything. I believe there are people who speak in Your name, but I don’t believe that I am one of them (Exodus 4:10).  I believe that You tell me to step out, but I don’t believe I can do more than take tiny steps (Exodus 4:1). I believe You are there when I am sure of the direction but sometimes forget to believe You are also there when I am unsure of the next path.  I have come to believe that my reluctance is not a sign of my inabilities, and especially not humility, but instead is a type of unbelief.  I now see and believe that I have been refusing to join You in Your work, and in doing that, I was not believing in Your ability to work through me.  I believe that You remind me as you reminded Moses, that You gave me the gift to speak and You tell me to use the gift You gave to me (Exodus 4:11-12). When I question and offer excuses, You answer “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’” (2 Corinthians 12:9).  When, like Moses, I argue that You need to send someone else, I am hinting that I don’t want to do it because I don’t believe You will come through with Your promise to make me capable.  I believe that You are capable of equipping others but need to believe that You are capable of equipping me.  Through obedience, Moses became a powerful leader—powerful enough to change the course of history and a powerful man of faith. I don’t know that I’ll ever be a powerful leader, but I do believe I can be known as a powerful woman of faith.  I believe that You are Creator of the Universe, and I believe that You are the creator of me. I believe that You knew me before I was even formed in the womb (“I chose you before I formed you in the womb; I set you apart before you were born.” – Jeremiah 1:5) and I believe that You knew my shortcomings.  I believe that You are capable of equipping me for the work to which You have called me.  Thank You, Lord, for Your words.