This is the last of a six-part blog series on “obstacles to obedience,” reasons we tell God, “No.” This comes to you courtesy of Ryan Doherty, the Summit’s North Durham campus pastor. Be sure to check out the rest of the series here: Introduction, Obstacle 1 (Not Recognizing the Call), Obstacle 2 (Time), Obstacle 3 (Earthly Treasures), & Obstacle 4 (Safety).
You have to admire Moses’ nerve. When God appears to him—from a burning bush, no less—and tells him to go intercede to Pharaoh on behalf of Israel, Moses responds by arguing with God. “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt? . . . I am not eloquent, but I am slow of speech and of tongue. . . . Oh, my Lord, please send someone else” (Exodus 3:11, 4:10, 13). We shouldn’t be surprised that Moses’ response led to “the anger of the Lord” being kindled against him.
Moses’ problem wasn’t his lack of training, or even his lack of confidence. After all, as God reminded him, he was talking with the One who made people’s mouths. And God himself had promised to go with Moses. Feeling inadequate was an appropriate response. In fact, feeling inadequate is not a disqualifier, but a prerequisite for obedience. But like Moses, we get into trouble when we allow fear to overtake our faith.
As Brother Andrew put it, “God does not choose people because of their ability, but because of their availability.”
God uses people to advance his kingdom. And he uses ordinary people. Gladys Aylward was an uneducated housemaid who was a missionary in China and Taiwan. She knew she wasn’t anything special. Speaking of her own ‘ordinariness,’ she said, “My heart is full because one so insignificant, uneducated, and ordinary in every way could be used to God’s glory.” Yet she became a Chinese citizen and was “a revered figure among the people, taking in orphans and adopting several herself, intervening in a volatile prison riot and advocating prison reform, risking her life many times to help those in need.”
Corrie Ten Boom said, “Every experience and every person God puts in our lives is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see.” An example of this is Paul Wilson Brand, who was born to missionary parents and grew up in India. He eventually pioneered surgical work with those suffering from Hansen’s disease, a bacterial infection more commonly known as leprosy. He said, “Lepers are made in the image of God, and I’ll devote my life to restoring that image, badly marred by disease.” Brand knew that he didn’t have to be everything to everyone. He only had to offer the skills he had. He overlooked and overcame obstacles of idolatry, success, and fame to become obedient to serving God among the least of these.
Missionary pilot Betty Greene often asked a very simple question, “How might God use something you are learning to do now at some time in the future?” Greene used her passion and giftedness for flying to assist missionaries in remote villages for over 16 years in over a dozen countries. Her life motto was, “Whatever God takes us through can prepare us for future assignments in His service.”
David Bussau offers another example. He is a pioneer of microfinance, aiming to alleviate world poverty through the wealth distribution model. His work illustrates his belief that there are many creative and talented poor people who just need an opportunity. He said, “God created me to be an entrepreneur, so the best thing that I had to contribute to society were those skills.”
What are your passions? What are your giftings? What experience, education, and background can you leverage for the sake of the gospel? As we often say at the Summit, whatever you are good at, do it well for the glory of God, and do it somewhere strategic for the mission of God. May we echo the prayer of the Methodist founder, John Wesley, “Lord, let me not live to be useless!”
“Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left…so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.”
~Exodus 14:21–22, 31
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