Speaking with God’s Guidance: The Lesson of Moses' Journey
Ex. 4:12 Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.
Nothing can be more disturbing to your soul than to be in a situation where people look to you for answers, but your words come up short at best. In our text, Moses was very nervous at the prospect of being God’s spokesperson so as to deliver His people from Egyptian bondage. Thoughts of uncertainty and insecurity led him to tell The Lord, “I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.” In other words, he not only felt like he couldn’t speak with excellence and clarity, but he worried about his whit, or his ability to speak concisely, clearly, and quickly. His reference to having a slow tongue is not necessarily limited to a speech impediment, as some might suggest, but can also imply that he has a lack of knowledge from which to draw the proper response. His fear may not be founded as much in his physical inabilities, as in his lack of knowledge. Remember that he grew up in and around the palace, and was exposed to the great orators of his day, and it seems here that he was intimidated, because he knew the demands that an environment like the one God was sending him to would require. He knew he couldn’t just go in and say whatever came to mind, and so his concern was not just associated with the actual act of speaking, but also in knowing what to say. In either case, The Lord reassures him that He will be with his mouth, and that He will teach him what to say. However, the most important thing that God instructed Moses to do at this point was to go! In other words, you won’t have to say anything until you are put in the right place at the right time anyway, so you might as well get on your way, so that by the time you arrive, God will have taught you what it is that you will need to say. Often, we try to cross over bridges that we haven’t even arrived at yet, but what we need to learn is to follow God’s commands one step at a time. You may have an assignment that will require a great deal of speaking for God, but perhaps what God would have you do is to make all the necessary preparations for now, and while you are preparing, He will be teaching you what to say. Just start going, and He will start teaching. It is best not to speak until you are prepared!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill
Nothing can be more disturbing to your soul than to be in a situation where people look to you for answers, but your words come up short at best. In our text, Moses was very nervous at the prospect of being God’s spokesperson so as to deliver His people from Egyptian bondage. Thoughts of uncertainty and insecurity led him to tell The Lord, “I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.” In other words, he not only felt like he couldn’t speak with excellence and clarity, but he worried about his whit, or his ability to speak concisely, clearly, and quickly. His reference to having a slow tongue is not necessarily limited to a speech impediment, as some might suggest, but can also imply that he has a lack of knowledge from which to draw the proper response. His fear may not be founded as much in his physical inabilities, as in his lack of knowledge. Remember that he grew up in and around the palace, and was exposed to the great orators of his day, and it seems here that he was intimidated, because he knew the demands that an environment like the one God was sending him to would require. He knew he couldn’t just go in and say whatever came to mind, and so his concern was not just associated with the actual act of speaking, but also in knowing what to say. In either case, The Lord reassures him that He will be with his mouth, and that He will teach him what to say. However, the most important thing that God instructed Moses to do at this point was to go! In other words, you won’t have to say anything until you are put in the right place at the right time anyway, so you might as well get on your way, so that by the time you arrive, God will have taught you what it is that you will need to say. Often, we try to cross over bridges that we haven’t even arrived at yet, but what we need to learn is to follow God’s commands one step at a time. You may have an assignment that will require a great deal of speaking for God, but perhaps what God would have you do is to make all the necessary preparations for now, and while you are preparing, He will be teaching you what to say. Just start going, and He will start teaching. It is best not to speak until you are prepared!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill