Page 10 - Living Light Autumn 23

Wednesday September 6 - Grow in perseverance
Then the Lord said, “If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first
sign, they may believe the second.” Exodus 4:8
If we live with self-doubt, whenever we hit a snag or difficulty, passivity and giving up will come quite naturally to us. However, as we start to overcome our self-doubt and dare to believe the things God says about us, we are free to begin to operate in the calling he’s placed on our lives. This makes it necessary for us to step out of our passivity and learn instead to act and to persevere.
Our verse today is a good example of this. God was gently warning Moses that it would probably take more than one sign to convince the Hebrew people that God had indeed sent him. Because God is often kind to us in this way, he’ll confirm his word and his will, as he did for Gideon with the fleece (Judges 6:36-40) and here with the signs he gave Moses. We, like Moses, need to understand that when following God’s call we won’t always succeed at the first attempt, so we need to be resilient and persevere. We know Moses hit many snags and difficulties as he followed God’s calling, but he did persevere and ultimately led his people out of Egypt.
The Apostle Paul puts it this way: ‘Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up’ (Galatians 6:9).
Thursday September 7 - Don’t make excuses
Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent... I am slow of speech and tongue.” Exodus 4:10
Although we know that Moses went on to do great things with and for the Lord, this week is all about learning from his less than auspicious beginning at the burning bush. There, Moses reacted to God’s calling in a way many of us can relate to. Moses didn’t understand why God had chosen him. He surely thought that someone else – anyone else – would be a better choice. He was very aware of his weaknesses but seemed unaware of his strengths. He was daunted by God’s calling and full of self-doubt, so he did his best to make excuses and convince God that he’d got it wrong.
God, however, wasn’t convinced by Moses’ excuses. God believed in Moses more than Moses believed in himself. Where Moses tried to rule himself out, God ruled him in. Moses, who claimed not to be eloquent, went on to be the one who delivered God’s law to the people as well as being credited with writing the first five books of the Bible.
It can be the same for us. We may feel weak and make excuses to God, saying we aren’t good enough because of this or that – but those areas of our lives may end up being the means that God uses to demonstrate his goodness and greatness. Where we feel we’re weak, he can be strong (2 Corinthians 12:10).
Lord, I’m sorry for the times I’ve made excuses to you. Thank you that when I feel weak, you can show yourself to be strong. Amen.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
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PRAYER FOR TODAY
Lord, please help me grow in willingness and the ability to persevere in whatever you’ve called me to. Amen.