Summary: <br> In Exodus chapter 3 we read about God and Moses having an argument. God is giving Moses very clear and detailed instructions on what to do next. How many of us would love for God to show up right now in our house and tell us exactly what to do? We think we would like that, but we would likely do the same exact thing Moses did … argue. God would tell us YOU do this and we would tell him WE can’t and then give him a laundry list of reasons why we’re not good enough, why we’re not ready, why we’re not able. This is exactly what Moses did. God tells Moses to go to Pharaoh (remember we talked about him yesterday) and lead the Israelites out of Egypt where they had been held captive. That was a big job with a whole lot of risk and Moses quite simply didn’t feel equipped for the job. He’s like “me, little old me? Oh come on God, you know I can’t do this!” So God goes about teaching him a lesson. That lesson is for every single one of us today who question our value, our worth and our ability to do what needs to be done today.<br> So we pick up in Exodus chapter 4, verses 1-4<br> But Moses protested again, “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The Lord never appeared to you’?”<br> 2 Then the Lord asked him, “What is that in your hand?”<br> “A shepherd’s staff,” Moses replied.<br> 3 “Throw it down on the ground,” the Lord told him. So Moses threw down the staff, and it turned into a snake! Moses jumped back.<br> 4 Then the Lord told him, “Reach out and grab its tail.” So Moses reached out and grabbed it, and it turned back into a shepherd’s staff in his hand.<br> Understand what was happening here was God was preparing Moses to do things he himself couldn’t do. He was proving his power to him. He was giving him a taste of the miraculous things he would do through him to complete this job he had been given.<br> Now, let’s spend some time unpacking this lesson and apply it to our lives today. In my journal, I have 3 lessons on this small portion of Moses’ story.<br> First, why was Moses arguing with God? Well, he was full of what if’s – God, you want me to go talk to these people, but what if they won’t believe me? What if they won’t listen to me?<br> Have you ever had a strong case of the what if’s? What if they don’t accept me? What if no one likes me? Let me tell you what your what if’s are – they are simply a reflection of your own feelings about you. You fear others not accepting you because somewhere deep down YOU don’t accept you. You assume people won’t like you because there are parts of you that YOU don’t like. And let me tell you something, God doesn’t like this one bit. He looks at you and sees your full potential still inside you untapped. He sees you as the complete creation he made you to be from the very beginning and he’s willing to push you and stretch you until you finally overcome all your what if’s. And the only way to overcome a what if is to be faced with the very thing you fear and then find you can overcome it.<br> You’re entirely too powerful, too beautiful, too special to go through another day of your life questioning who you are. You have been chosen by God for a job – quit trying to convince him you’re not good enough. If God says you’re good enough, you’re good enough. He has work for you to do – now for goodness sake, stop arguing with him. You’re the one. You’re the one he has chosen. You’re the one he is equipping. You’re the one he will work through. It’s you. Guess what, you’re never going to feel good enough, so stop relying on your feelings and waiting for them to confirm what God has already told you. YOU ARE THE ONE. You have a mission.<br> Now how does God respond to Moses’ fears and what if’s ...
