Peek-A-Boo

Sometimes our gifting and callings seem hidden from us – we don’t see them.

Moses was the most humble man on earth, the Bible says. Because of that, God was able to use him to lead a million people out of horrible bondage. It was a huge feat.

Moses didn’t see that coming. He just thought of himself as a shepherd. At one time he wanted to free his Israeli brethren from slavery but had failed.[i] So he ran away and just survived – found a job and a family.

But the thing he’d wanted to do so long ago was really planted there by God. It’s how he went about it that needed to change.

So God let him go off and learn survival skills in the desert, and let him learn about life by living it. It doesn’t really even appear as if Moses spent those 40 years building his relationship with God. He was just living.

Then it was time. Moses was taking his flock of sheep through the desert one day. God had heard His people in Egypt crying out to be delivered from their slavery.

But even when God told Moses what He wanted him to do,[ii] Moses didn’t see where he fit in. Moses brought up some seemingly legitimate fears and reasons for God to choose someone else.

In response God told Moses all the ways He would help him. Still, Moses didn’t want to go. But God did not release him from his responsibility. In the end Moses did what God asked him to do. Yay!

Do you see any parallels between this story and your life? Are there things you’ve wanted to do in the past that somehow never came about? Ask yourself why. Ask God to help you discern what, when, if, how and when He wants you to do those things. He’ll tell you. He has good things in store for you!


Psalm 16:11, NKJV: “You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”




[i] Exodus 2:11-14
[ii] Exodus 3

Who's Got You?

What’s the worst job you’ve ever had? The worst conditions, the worst co-workers, the most ungrateful customers, the most divided leadership team?

Okay, now think of taking a million men, women and children:

· Through the desert;
· On foot;
· The people probably don’t have the best self-image;
· No food or water supplies; and
· Maybe not very educated.

So there is Moses leading the Isrealites out of Egypt. Hurrah, God miraculously delivered them from that oppressive situation with tons of gold, silver and other treasures the Egyptians pressed on them as they left just to get them out of there.

Then God gave them a daily source of food, made sure their clothes didn’t wear out and found enough water for all the people and their livestock. Wow!

They camped out in the desert for awhile as God set up some laws and rules by which they could live, and develop a nation out of themselves.

Then came Numbers 11. The people started complaining because they wanted some meat in addition to the bread they got every day. Who can blame them? The same thing to eat every day gets a little old.

But these people wouldn’t let go of their resentment. They thought about how good they had it back in Egypt – cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. Mmmmm! (“Oh, being in slavery? Well maybe it wasn’t that bad!”)

Moses had had it. He started in on God. To paraphrase, he asked God why He had punished him so terribly. Why did he have to carry the weight of all this responsibility? These weren’t Moses’ kids, his children! Why did he have to carry them around as if they were a bunch of babies? Where was Moses supposed to find meat for them to eat? All these people did was cry all over him!

He ended his discourse by telling God he’d rather die than keep doing this job.

HOW MANY TIMES have you at least felt the same way even if you haven’t actually said it? But when you look at the situation from the outside it’s easier to see how funny it sounds.

After all, God has pretty good solutions to our problems. In this case He told Moses to go get 70 elders, God would give them some of the ability and power He’d given Moses, and those men would help share the burden of leadership.

Plus, God would give the people more meat than they would ever want. He'd feed them meat until they got sick of it.

Poof. That’s all we have to do. Simple. Just tell God what your problem is and He’ll help you figure it out. Don’t get me wrong – from what I can tell reading the Psalms God wants us to express ourselves and be honest about how we’re feeling.

You have to let the truth be exposed so you and God can deal with it. So tell God how you really feel. Then let Him figure out the right solution and tell you how to deal with it. He’ll straighten things up. That way, it’ll all work out.


Proverbs 3:5-6, New King James version: “ Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

Fear

Fear is a force that has gripped everyone at one time or another. It’s probably the predominant emotion among most living beings.

Did you know we don’t HAVE to be afraid? In fact, it wasn’t in our Creator’s plan for us to ever fear.

Many times I’ve heard the argument that sometimes fear is a “good” emotion. For example, if you come face to face with a thief, fear gets your adrenalin going so you can run away faster.

Well in that case what’s good is the adrenalin rush, not necessarily the emotion of fear itself.

"...[S]tates generated by fear literally cause our field of sight to narrow, giving us tunnel vision. We literally experience our world as contracted, more limited, and more threatening." P. 309, "Becoming a Professional Life Coach" by Patrick Williams and Diane S. Menendez.

The command “do not fear” is the most oft-repeated instruction in the Bible. Since it’s a command TO us, and not a suggestion for a way to pray, we can infer that we have control over whether or not we are afraid.

It seems impossible to believe that it’s possible to not ever be afraid again in our lives. (How did you like that sentence?) To not be afraid we need a trust-filled relationship with God so we can rely on Him when we are tempted to fear.

What does it take to get to that point? Minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour, day-by-day, decide you’re going to believe God will protect you. Build your relationship with Him one decision at a time. He’s not going to let you down.

I am an emotional person. One thing I do regularly is submit my emotions to God and ask that He will help balance them out. Don’t ignore the feeling when fear rises in your throat. Right then and there ask Him to help you. He will.

Hebrews 13:5b, Amplified Version: “…for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. I will not, I will not, I will not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let you down (relax My hold on you)! Assuredly not!

Did You Know?

Did you know that you matter to God?

No really - think about this instead of just passing it over. YOU matter to God. He is deeply interested in your dreams, desires, vision and passions, and He has a vested interest in you.

The reason I can say He is so interested in you is that His Son Jesus gave His life so that you could become part of God's family (John 3:16). So no wonder God cares. Wouldn't you care if one of your children gave all he had for someone else? At a minimum, you'd be concerned about what happened to that person.

Another reason God cares about you so much is that He created you - your body, your emotions, your DNA, your very being. When you mold and fashion something, you're very interested in how it turns out. It's the same with God. He poured Himself into us as He was creating us. He was excited about what He was doing. He put various aspects of His character into you.

If you are the kind of person who loves to go out into the wilderness to soak in the beauty and absorb the peace and magnificence of it all, that's because God loves that. If you get all fired up and excited when you have the opportunity to help someone it's because God does too. It's like God is the huge sparkling diamond and we are the little points on the diamond. In this world, people who walk with God are the shining, sparkling points on that diamond. Each of us reflects some aspect of His character.

When you first find a diamond it might not look very nice because it has dirt clinging to it. But as it gets cleaned up you start to see the sparkle. Little bits and pieces of what's underneath the dirt start to show through.

God sees what's underneath the dirt. Maybe you're feeling like you're suffocating because of all the dirt covering your nose and mouth. But let God wash that stuff off. Let Him hear the cry of your heart. Think about letting that song pour out of your being. What do you want to DO? Who ARE you? What do you FEEL in the depths of your being? Are you living life TRUE to the things God has placed in you? Are you living your life in congruence with who you are?

Jeremiah 29:11, Amplified Version - For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.