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Exodus 4:10–14 [says,]
Moses said to the Lord, “O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”
The Lord said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”
But Moses said, “O Lord, please send someone else to do it.”
Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses.1
There’s a saying that goes, “If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.” Well, apparently if you want to make God mad, tell Him your limitations.
God had approached Moses with an assignment that was over his head. The Lord was going to take on the leader of the most powerful nation in the world at that time in order to free His people from slavery … and Moses was going to be His representative.
Moses’ initial response seemed to indicate a genuine humility: “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”2
God simply responds with, “I will be with you.” No hint of anger whatsoever.
Moses continues to ask questions, all of them pretty legitimate. And every time God responds by giving him a game plan and telling him He’s got it covered. Once again, no anger.
But then Moses oversteps his bounds. He implies that his poor communication skills will undercut God’s intention to use him to speak on His behalf. We might be tempted to think that Moses is once again displaying humility.
In fact, it’s just the opposite. It’s pride.
Moses’ problem isn’t that he’s too humble and doesn’t believe in himself. It’s that he’s prideful and thinks God’s capability rises and falls with his own inability.
We often think pride means overconfidence in our own abilities. Or possibly attributing the source of those abilities to ourselves rather than God. But there is another side to pride that is often overlooked. It can also mean that you believe your limitations are an unstoppable obstacle to God’s power and purposes in your life.
There’s nothing quite so prideful as thinking that you have the ability to single-handedly thwart what God wants to do in and through you.
This time God isn’t patient or nice to Moses. He doesn’t respond with a “you just need to believe in yourself, you’re better than you think you know,” motivational talk. He actually turns angry, because Moses’ perspective is monumentally insulting to God. A God with limitless power and ability has no desire or time to hear about the limitations of the people He wants to use.
True humility doesn’t start with having an accurate view of ourselves. It starts with having an accurate view of God. And an accurate view of God will both shrink us down to size but also make us realize that God is big enough to use anybody of any size.
This includes you.
Maybe you think you’re doomed to be a miserable parent because you had miserable parents. Maybe you think your lack of an education will keep you from making a significant impact for God’s kingdom. Maybe you believe your friend’s response to Jesus is based solely on the excellence of your gospel presentation. Maybe …
You’re not that big. God knew your limitations long before you were ever even aware of them. Don’t stop selling yourself short. Stop selling God short. He used a stuttering, murdering shepherd to set a whole nation free.
Imagine what He could do with you.—Steven Furtick
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One of the fruits of the Spirit that’s closely related to humility is meekness.
I like the definition of meekness that was in the Bible dictionary I was looking at. It says meekness is “an attitude of humility toward God and gentleness toward men, springing from a recognition that God is in control.” Isn’t that good? I’ll read it again. “An attitude of humility toward God and gentleness toward men, springing from a recognition that God is in control.” It is strength and courage under control, coupled with kindness.
This kind of meekness is having faith and peace, because you know God’s in control. You can be mild and quiet of nature, because you’re full of faith. You’ve got the Lord’s presence right there with you, and you’ve gotten your instructions from Him, and you have the assurance that He’s going to work things out, and that He’ll do the miracles that are needed, no matter how incredibly overwhelming or desperate the situation might be.
You have faith, and therefore you have trust. You’re quiet in spirit. You’re mild, because you’re not frantically trying to work up a miracle or a solution in your own strength. You’re depending on the Lord and not on yourself. You’re not depending on your own talent, your own wisdom, your own charisma. You’re just trusting, because you have confidence in the Lord, you have that calmness, that meekness, which translates to others as the Lord’s presence right there with you. They know everything’s okay, because you have that meekness, that quietness of spirit about you.—Peter Amsterdam3
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The meek man will attain a place of soul rest. As he walks on in meekness he will be happy to let God defend him. The old struggle to defend himself is over. He has found the peace which meekness brings.—A. W. Tozer
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Everybody can be great ... because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.—Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Those who are following My Spirit closely and are trying to emulate My ways don’t have to fear losing their image, because they’re trying to make My image their image, so they have nothing to fear. Those who are used to turning to Me and drawing their power and strength from Me have faith and trust. They’re not afraid, because they know that I’m the one who has to lead and guide them, and they pin their faith and trust in My answer and My leading, and in all they do they obey what I show them.
The humble are not afraid, because they've already accepted that they are nothing, that they know nothing, and can do nothing without Me. They know they need Me and they readily acknowledge this to Me and to others. So they’re not afraid, because they know that I will have to help them, and they’ve learned that I don’t fail when they cry out to Me.
They’ve learned through experience that I am always ready to answer their needs and their cries for help, so they rest in Me and depend upon Me to carry them through and to work through them. They’ve learned the power of prayer and the power of My Spirit. So they pray and trust, they pray and listen, they pray and obey, and thus they are not afraid, for they let Me lead the way. They’ve learned that I truly am in control, so there’s nothing to fear.
Those who have not learned to depend on Me are always afraid of their own weaknesses. They’re afraid of the mistakes they will make. They’re afraid of the things they don’t know. They’re afraid of the future. But all of this can be washed away as they learn to give their whole heart to Me, and as they humble themselves completely as little children before Me and let Me be their Lord and Master.—Jesus, speaking in prophecy4
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Archimedes of Syracuse is famous for his quip: “Give me a place to stand and I will move the earth.” He was referencing the lever, of course. A lever amplifies the input force to provide a greater output force. The longer the lever, the greater the leverage!
Can I borrow that simple statement but substitute one word?
Give me a place to KNEEL and I will move the earth. Humility is our lever! The lower you go in humility—input force—the greater the output, because God intervenes on your behalf. Bow the knee and God will extend His mighty right hand.
In the spiritual realm, humility is the longest lever. If you completely humble yourself before God, then there is nothing God cannot do in you and through you.—Mark Batterson5
Published on Anchor September 2012. Read by David Salas.
1 NIV.
2 Exodus 3:11 NIV.
3 Originally published February 2009.
4 Originally published April 1998.
5 www.markbatterson.com
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