This Friday, we're going back to the basics and diving into the well known story of "Moses And The Burning Bush". (Exodus 3 & 4)
Have you ever known you should do something but not done it because you were scared? I think we all have. Maybe it's talking to the one kid who isn't so popular, or standing up for someone, or telling someone that they're doing something wrong. As an introvert myself, I'm very experienced with things like this. We tend to draw lines around ourselves and call it the comfort zone. If anything doesn't fit inside that zone...it's going to be one of the hardest things for us to do -- especially as an introvert.
Moses was faced with a situation where he had to decide...was he going to do what he knew he had to do? Or was he going to stick to his comfort zone?
God told him to go and tell Pharaoh to let his people go. Seems like a simple task. Just saying a few words.
But really...it wasn't that simple. Especially because Moses was most likely thinking of all the possible things that could go wrong.
When God asked him to do this, Moses' response was that he is slow of speech.
I imagine Moses to be just like any of us. Most likely introverted and insecure. And, just like us, he had a comfort zone.
Going up to Pharoh, in front of other people, and telling him a message from God...didn't exactly fit inside his comfort zone. I mean, he was slow of speech, there were other people going to be watching him, and he knew Pharaoh wasn't going to say yes. But it was what God told him to do...so he had to do it.
He tried giving excuses but instead of letting him off the hook, you know what God did? He told Moses to do several odd things. Like, dropping his staff on the ground and simply putting his hand inside the coat.
These things seemed odd and Moses didn't understand. But God did these things to show Moses that He was in control. To make Moses question himself...why was he worrying when God was the one who told him to do it?
If God tells us to do something...he won't leave us to do it alone.
He's going to be with us the entire time. I like the verse in the Bible that says "For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say." (Luke 12:12)
If God is the one who called you to do it...he will send his Holy Spirit to give you the right words to say.
So weather it's talking to not-so-popular kid, speaking up for somebody, or telling someone about Jesus...there's no need to worry even if you are stepping out of your comfort zone. You can count on the Holy Spirit to be with you.
Be sure to leave a comment letting me know your favorite bible stories for future Back To The Basics posts!