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Moses said to Yahweh, 'Oh, Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before now, nor since you have spoken to your servant; for I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.' Yahweh said to him, 'Who made man's mouth? Or who makes one mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Isn't it I, Yahweh? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth, and teach you what you shall speak.' He said, 'Oh, Lord, please send someone else.' Exodus 4:10 WEB

Moses was born a Hebrew slave and the law of the land stated that he was to be thrown into the Nile river at birth. Fortunately for him, his mother placed a basket under him first and as he floated in the river, Pharaoh's daughter found him and then raised him as her own child. Moses was raised as an Egyptian prince in the house of Pharaoh, and he was educated well.

When Moses was around forty years old, he went out to see his own people, the Hebrews. He saw their oppression and found an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave, so Moses intervened. They got into a struggle and he ended up killing the Egyptian. Then Moses hid him in the sand. The next time Moses came to visit, there were two Hebrews fighting and he tried to break them up. One of them asked him, 'Who made you a prince and judge over us? Do you plan to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?'

The word about the dead Egyptian began to spread. Pharaoh heard about it, and Moses had to flee from Egypt. He then lived as an humble shepherd in Midian for forty more years. Moses married and began to raise a family there. He got on with his life, but eventually, God came calling.

Moses had been prepared by God over the course of his life. God had invested a lot of time into the 'Moses Project.': the education, the desire to deliver his people, the humility that he learned while leading a flock of wandering sheep for decades. Moses no longer had any personal ambition or agenda to fulfill. He was eighty years old, washed up, a broken man, and now ready for God to use.

That is when God showed up and made His request. God told Moses to go to back to Egypt, but Moses told Him to 'Please send someone else' (Exodus 4:13). Thinking back on his past failures and his weaknesses, Moses just did not feel up to the task anymore. He was looking at himself as having to be the answer, and he remembered the last time that he tried that. Moses no longer wanted to go, but it was now time, and God refused to take no for an answer.

In my own life, I experienced something very similar. When I was young, I wanted to be in ministry so bad, and when I graduated from seminary, I thought that I knew a lot. Then I ended up working some very humble jobs, like pumping septic tanks, digging foundations, pressure washing houses, and polishing brass. Eventually the Lord pushed me into working on computers.

Finally, I gave up on ever being in ministry at all, failing to see that He was preparing me the entire time. When I had forgotten everything that I once knew and felt completely empty inside, He pushed me into full time ministry for Him. I no longer wanted to go, and I wished that He would 'just send someone else.' Suffice it to say that He can be persistent, and here I am.

God is always preparing and educating you for what is coming, and sometimes the most humble positions will teach you things that the greatest colleges cannot. When a door closes, you should get excited because you have now graduated from that class and are going to learn something new. I spent years working on computers and as technical director at our local churches. The skills I learned in both those areas are vital to what we are doing now.

When God does start talking about your future, don't start talking about your past. That is what our enemy does and he will always remind you of your past, your failures, your weaknesses. 'Look at you! You will never be good enough. There is no hope for you. Why bother? Just stop.' That is the wrong voice to listen to.

God will always talk to you about your future. It does not matter what you may have done yesterday. Today is a new day and the first day of the rest of your life. Every time that I have ever stumbled and came back to the Lord, He wanted to talk about my future, not my past. He is the God of today and He brings restoration and hope with Him.

God will never give up on you. The silent times are just a part of your education. Don't give up, just take it one day at a time. We will continue learning as long as we live here because God's knowledge is infinite, and we still have a long way to go. This is your life passing by. Pay attention to what is happening in it. You will use it in the future.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please teach me all that I need to know and put me where You want me to be. I make a choice to trust You with my life. I am Yours God, do what thou wilt. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray.

Note: "I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer" (Psalm 17:6) If you have a prayer need, we are here for you! We and the prayer team are ready to lift you up at our private prayer page: RHM Prayer Network

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