Once upon a time, a shepherd named Moses was watching his father-in-law's sheep near Mount Horeb when the Lord appeared to him in a burning bush. It was not unusual for a dry bush to catch fire in the desert under the blazing sun, but this one didn't burn up. It just kept burning. So eventually, Moses went over to look at it, and God started speaking to him from within it.

(Exodus 3:7-10 NASB) The LORD said, "I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. "So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. "Now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them. "Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt."

God had a mission. He told Moses that He had heard the cries of the children of Israel. He had seen their afflictions, their oppression, and their sufferings. The Lord said, "I have come down to deliver them." Then He told Moses, "Come now, and I will send you." God's purpose in coming down was to send Moses, who did not yet know Him.

Moses was scared. He didn't know what to say, but one thing was clear: he didn't want to return to Egypt. He had already tried to free his people forty years earlier but failed and had to run for his life. Now he lived in exile as a shepherd. Moses started making excuses, but God dismissed them as quickly as Moses came up with them.

Moses said, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?" (Exodus 3:11) and "What if they don't believe me?" (Exodus 4:1). Then God turned the staff in Moses' hand into a snake, and he fled from it. Then his hand became leprous, as white as snow. But when Moses put his hand into his robe and took it out again, it was completely healed.

Still trying to get out of going, Moses said: "I am slow of speech and slow of tongue" (Exodus 4:10). The Lord told him: "Go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth, and teach you what you are to say" (Exodus 4:12 NASB).

Moses was filled with insecurities. Perhaps he had a stutter or a speech impediment then, so the Lord told him, I will be with your mouth. Moses had what we now call "low self-esteem," but God did nothing to fix his "problem." Moses had gone from being a prince in Pharaoh's court to working as a simple shepherd for the past forty years. He didn't even have his own flock, as he was tending his father-in-law's sheep.

Yet the Lord didn't try to build Moses up, point out his strengths, or bolster his confidence in himself. He merely pointed Moses to the power of God. All confidence, all provision, all communication, and the ability to convey it, all miracles, every single thing that Moses needed for the mission would come from the Lord, the great I AM.

In fact, Moses' ego continued to decline until he became the most humble man on the face of the Earth, and at the same time, the most powerful man alive (Numbers 12:3). Sometimes the Earth would split open and swallow his enemies (Numbers 16:31).

When God told Moses to go, he was empowered with everything needed to complete the mission, but it was not given to him in advance, for Moses could not have carried it all with him. It was as if the heavenly provisions were set aside, earmarked to be used by Moses when the time came.

The manifestation came as it was needed, for provision is always within the vision. You are given what you need to take step one, and if you never take step one, then you will never see provision for step two manifest. Moses was given what he needed to go to Egypt, and the powers of heaven were made available to him.

Moses would sometimes question himself:

(Exodus 6:29-30 NASB) …the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "I am the LORD; speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I speak to you." But Moses said before the LORD, "Behold, I am unskilled in speech; how then will Pharaoh listen to me?"

Moses would sometimes become afraid and secretly wonder what to do. To the people, Moses appeared as a rock, full of faith, but in secret, he cried out to God in desperation. We can see this when the Israelites became trapped between the Red Sea and the chariots of the Egyptian army:

(Exodus 14:13-16 NASB) But Moses said to the people, "Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. "The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent." Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. "As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land.

Moses was praying hard for a breakthrough when he already had everything he needed in his hand, except for the wisdom on how to use it. How many times have we done that? God had empowered Moses with what he needed at the start of the mission, and most of the time, he just needed to speak the words to cause change. His words brought the power and authority of God Almighty into the earthly realm. When Moses stretched out his hand, the Lord swept back the Red Sea like a curtain.

To the people on the shore, Moses looked immensely powerful, like a wizard wielding a great staff. But he was simply a man on a mission, empowered by the One who had sent him. God provides what is needed for the mission, and He takes care of the things that we cannot. He usually will not do our job for us, but I have had Him expedite things.

There was intense struggle and resistance, but Moses overcame them all, one obstacle at a time. When God sends you on a mission, it does not exempt you from struggle. It brings it! When you are a wet noodle who takes a stand on nothing, then you are no threat to the enemy, but when you begin to be a threat to the force of darkness, task masters are assigned to deal with you, and the struggle begins. No matter how impossible the mission, you will overcome.

God has already given you what you need to take the next step in your mission. If anything, you need the wisdom to apply it. Like Moses, we need to stop thinking about ourselves, our weaknesses, our problems, and get in tune with what God is doing in our generation. We are here for such a time as this. Let's make it count.

You can pray this with me if you like:

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I pray that You guide me and help me get in tune with what You are doing on the Earth today. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Let me discover the gifts that You have put in my life and help me to use them for Your kingdom. I pray that You give me a clear vision and help me see the next step for me. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!