Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” Exodus 3:1-12 (ESV)
Not a Risk-Taker
I’ve never been much of a risk-taker. I prefer to make sure that I can be successful at something before I ever start it. If I am not certain I can do something, I just won’t even try.
But, I don’t want to be like that. I really don’t want to pass that trait on down to my kids. I want to dream big dreams and jump out to reach for them no matter if I am going to fall flat on my face or not.
I want to dream big dreams and jump out to reach for them no matter if I am going to fall flat on my face or not.
Pay Attention
God is using a lot of different ways to bring this to my attention. I see quotes in my Facebook feed, hear stories of past friends accomplishing amazing stuff, listen to songs on the radio about God being able to do impossible things, and then, my pastor preached on Exodus 3:1-12 one Sunday.
The Raising Up of a Deliverer
The whole story of Moses is fascinating, but this particular section focuses in on his encounter with God in a burning bush. God gives him a mission to be the instrument used by the one true God of Israel to delivery His people from slavery.
Only Trust
Moses can only see the potential (and likelihood) that he will fail at this task. But God’s response is “I will be with you.” The all-powerful God of the universe would go with him and provide all he needs for success if Moses will only trust in Him.
Isn’t that the way it is with me? If I would just believe that the almighty God I serve is right there with me, providing all I need for success, I should never be afraid to take any risk.
My Next Step
So my action step tonight is to stop trying to get everything perfectly worded and in line to bring about success. My action step is to go ahead and launch this blog that I have been dreaming about and planning and working on for months.
Action Step:
What is the thing you are dreaming of doing? What is the challenge that has you paralyzed with fear of failure? Tell someone about it. Take the first step towards that edge of the cliff. Then, ask them to hold you accountable: ask them to make sure you jump off that that cliff so you have the opportunity to soar. Have faith that the God of the universe upholds you in the palm of His hand and if you fall He catch you and set you back on the cliff to try again.
Prayer:
Father God, You are amazing. You are full of power and majesty, yet you care about us. Thank you for having a plan for each of our lives and enabling us to not only dream big dreams, but also reach out and grab them. Help me to trust rather than be afraid. In Jesus’ Name, amen.
