I read a short poem that speaks powerfully to every heart and describes each of us in some stage of our lives. It goes something like this:
With thoughtlessness and impatient hands, we tangle up the plans the Lord hath wrought, And when we cry in pain, He says, “Be quiet, My child, while I untie the knot.
Ok, alone these words have little meaning, so lets paint a picture to bring to life the essence of their meaning. The poem talks about untying knots. No problem as long as the knot is not tightened, but rarely is that the case. Have you ever tried to untie a knot that was hopelessly tightened? I know I have. It isnt too difficult to realize when the hardened ball is beyond undoing, yet in our stubbornness, we still attempt to unravel this heaping mess, too proud to ask for help. It seems help is our last ditch effort. Funny thing is – this story describes the condition of many of our lives. Our life’s challenges are symbolized by the knot. Our self sufficiency and self effort are symbolized by the hardness of the knot. Where does it all end? When do we learn to ask for help before the knot of our life’s challenges tighten beyond repair?
Isnt that where Moses was? God had tied a bow in the lace of Moses’ life. In effort to speed God’s plan forward, the bow of Moses’ life became a knotted mess. The knot was so tight, not even Moses could untie it. Moses ran and hid away, so he thought, not realizing the place he ran to was God’s training ground. 40 years had passed before Moses would realize what took place. Now 80 years of age, Moses stands before God and hears the very words he feared most – “Moses, I’m sending you”. At that very moment, Moses must have shut down, hearing nothing but the echo of those very words resonating through his mind. How could that be? Did God forget how knotted of a mess he made of things just forty years earlier? No, he had to be hearing wrong!
With doubt and fear crutching him tightly, Moses speaks in utter surprise, “Who me, Lord! No way you can mean me!” Can you see the scene reeling forward as Moses begins to process what God has said? Yet Moses’ indecision did not change God’s plan and call for his life. No amount of excuses given, altered God’s purpose. He was it and nothing would change that.
This kind of calling wasnt just for Moses. There are many examples of God calling the unlikely. There was God’s man, Jonah. Can you see it? God called this man to evangelize to the very people he hated. Can you imagine God calling someone like this, yet that’s just what he did.
How about GIdeon? God chose a coward at heart to lead a revolution against a powerful army. How do we know the condition of Gideon’s heart? The Bible tells us the Lord found the fearful Gideon crouched down in a winepress. Hilarious right?
Moses was just one of many unlikely candidates called to serve God. In his mind, he had to come to terms with his inner fears, overcoming his own perception of things. Moses was an 80 year old shepherd who couldnt scrape enough together to support his own family. Would you have considered him a likely prospect for delivering an entire nation of people? It maks no sense to us, does it? Yet the Bible tells us in 2 Chronicles 16:9, that the Lord’s eyes range throughuot the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him. That’s right, God’s eyes are looking for an individual whose hearts are just right for His tasks. Look out, because when He finds them, he plunges them right in.
Moses didnt see himself in that light. As a result, he stubbornly resists God’s call. How do we know? The Bible tells us so. As God talks, Moses responds with lame excuses which persist until there were no excuses left to give. After all was said an done, Moses still was chosen for the job.
Are you a Moses? Have you responded with “Who me, Lord?”, offering every excuse in the book as to why you arent the person that should be called? Have you stubbornly refused to accept God’s will for your life, by running and hiding away or are you a willing vessel readied for service to God? Will His eyes range the earth to find your heart fully committed to the task, that is, any task He has in mind? Man looks on the outside to judge one’s worth, but God looks deep within and finds the very thing hidden away that’s worth using. When called, will you respond, “Who me Lord?” or will you answer, “Here I am!”? Remember it is these unlikely souls that God has and will temper for His use. God uses for extraordinary purposes, what the world misuses, dismisses and misunderstands. What will you choose to answer when He calls?
Tags: Chronicles, Doubt, Excuses, Gideon, God, Gods PUrpose, Jonah, Lord, Moses, Poem, Revolution, stubbornness
