Two Sundays ago I listened to a message that raised some interesting questions for me. That day I was pretty busy, so I forgot to write about it, but it still pops into my mind now and then, so I thought I should post my thoughts about it now.
The message used two passages about Moses (guy who led the Israelites from Egypt, parted the Red Sea, Prince of Egypt and whatnot), one from Acts 7, and one from Exodus 3--I think. Anyway, the passage from Acts really intrigued me, specifically this verse: "Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not" (Acts 7: 25). On it's own maybe there might not seem to be a lot of significance to this verse, but it takes on meaning when you contrast it to Moses reaction when God speaks to him in the burning bush.
See, when Moses was still in Egypt he believed that God was "using him to rescue [the Israelites]" which is exactly what happened, only years later. Even more interesting is that by the time actually spoke to Moses, Moses no longer believed that he was meant to rescue the Israelites, and God had to kind of coerce him into doing so! That says a lot to me not just about God's timing, but about our own searchs to know God's will today.
Moses thought he knew what God wanted him to do; he was supposed to rescue the Israelites. Yet, even though that was what God had planned for him, God didn't call him to do it when Moses was sure of his calling. And you have to wonder, why? I haven't really drawn any conclusions myself, but I wonder if it was an issue of pride. When Moses was in Egypt, he was a prince, and as such, held a degree of power. Perhaps Moses didn't believe so much that God was using him, but believed in his own power and position instead. Maybe that's why it wasn't until after Moses had fled Egypt--lost his power and status--and established himself as a lowly shepherd that God commissioned him to go to Egypt; God wanted Moses to understand that God was the source of his strength and power.
This also says something to me about how we interpret God's will for us. I have a friend who believed that she was meant to do a certain ministry, but when all sorts of personal difficulties arose from her work in that ministry, she questioned whether or not she was really supposed to be doing that work. At the time she discussed it for me, I really didn't know what to think, and couldn't do more than to suggest that she pray about it, and offer to do the same. Now, though, I wonder if maybe it wasn't God's way of saying that she was in the wrong ministry, but that it was the wrong time for that ministry. Moses tried to rescue his people, but that resulted in his flight from Egypt. Surely that would seem like a sign that he wasn't meant to save them afterall! What a shock it must have been, years later, to be asked to do what he attempted, but failed to accomplish before! I wonder if he even remembered that he had believed that to be his calling...
So yes, those are my thoughts. ^_^ Nice to know I still have some brain power left after spending two hours on Wordsworth's The Prelude without understanding practically anything! @_@
