Moses Opposes His Calling

Think about the times we’ve failed because we never even tried. We had a sense that God was leading us to do something, but out of fear, stubbornness, or simply because we were preoccupied or distracted, we did nothing.  

Those times can make us feel like we’ve failed in our career, failed our spouses, our kids, or our friends. When we should’ve stepped up, we laid low instead. 

When God showed up to Moses in the burning bush and revealed to him all the amazing, powerful things he wanted to do through him, Moses for sure tried to take the “lay low” route.  

Moses doubted God’s decision to work through him (see Exodus 3:11, 13). Moses didn’t think Pharaoh would take him seriously. When God alleviated his first doubts, Moses had more up his sleeve such as “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue” (Exodus 4:10). Finally, he just straight up asked God for a way out (Exodus 4:13). 

A really short version of this story is that God did end up working through Moses. In fact, God led an entire nation out of captivity through Moses’s leadership. And Moses ended up becoming a hero, and a cornerstone figure of the entire Old Testament.  

Moses failed by resisting an invitation to trust God. He failed by opposing (or least trying to oppose) God’s plan for the things God wanted to do through him. But guess what? God did his work anyway. Failure (and a string of excuses) didn’t scare God away, and he did something remarkable through Moses.

God’s remarkable work isn’t dependent on how remarkable you are (though we’d argue you are remarkable, but maybe that’s for another day). It’s dependent on how remarkable HE is. That’s why, even if you’ve failed to step up, or you feel totally ill-equipped for something God is asking you to do, don’t be afraid of failure.  

Success is not up to you, it’s up to God.