Over the past month Darrick and I have been studying the
life of Moses with a bible study that we are both a part of. It has been…..well a lot of things to say
the least. Challenging, Encouraging, and
Convicting are the 3 words that I will focus on though and here is why.
Challenging: I am challenged to really take a hard and
prayerful look at my/our life to see where God might want to “send me/us.” I say me/us because well, I have more factors
to consider than just me, as did Moses.
After he fled Egypt, he had a family (wife and sons and maybe daughters
too) in Midian where he lived for 40 years before God “called” him to go back
to Egypt to rescue the Israelites. You
see, I feel like for really the last 4 years or so, I have been living in what
I would call “survivor mode” as we have either been pregnant or had an infant
to care for. Now that our fun filled Dez
is nearing 2 years old and our sweet Addy is almost 4, we are starting to once
again feel a bit more “normal”…or at least as normal as you can be with 2 young
ones. We are getting to a place where we
feel like we can serve more and be involved with more as a family now, which is
exciting. Darrick and I have similar
passions as far as where we desire or feel equipped to serve (however we also
know that he might ask us to do something that we don’t desire or feel equipped
for) and we are excited to see the direction that God will take us. I know that God calls us to first and foremost
shepherd our little ones that we have under our roof and that will always be
our top priority, but I also know that he calls us to step outside of that when
we are able to serve others—and we are to that point. God is telling us it’s time. He is reinforcing that through this study of
Moses for both of us.
Convicting: I used the word convicting because…well…even
though I am challenged to see where God wants us, I also see lots and lots of
selfishness in my heart as we pray for guidance as to where God would have
us. You see, I don’t want to “rock the
boat” per say in our life that has started to become a bit more “normal.” I am finally “comfortable.” As you study Moses’ life in Exodus, you see a
man who God had been preparing his whole life for the task that Moses was set
out to do. I know that God has been
preparing me my whole life as well to do great things for his glory, but it is
convicting on how many times “I” get in the way of that due to my sin or my
selfishness or my turning away from God’s direction. And while God had prepared Moses for a very
long time, you see a long list of “excuses” that Moses gives God in Exodus 3
and 4. (Go check it out). I also see myself giving many “excuses” as to
why this opportunity is not right or how I am not “equipped.”
Encouraging: While the words challenging and
convicting have been lingering in my brain, more than either of those words
comes the word “Encouraging.” Why? Well, you see Moses had been challenged and
Moses had been convicted and Moses had given lots of excuses to God as to why
“he was not the one for the job” but through all those excuses and questions,
God repeatedly promised to be “with Moses”.
God is with our family as we make these decisions. God will equip us to do the work he is asking
us to do. God will give us the time we
need to do them. God will teach us as we
serve. God will mold us as we
serve. God is our source in all we do! God is a God of encouragement and
support. He does not desire for us to
“do this life” alone. (I know that many
of us try to do that often) but he desires more than that for all of us!!! So in the end I am encouraged to know and
truly believe that God will help us serve and God will get the glory in the end
and as a result of all of that our family will continue to be blessed as it
always is, regardless of the situation or how hard something might be.
What about you?
Where is God challenging you to serve or help? How does that challenge convict you? Do you believe that God can not only support
you in that challenge, but guide you every step of the way? Maybe it is stepping up in leadership in a
campus ministry or in your church or in your dorm. Maybe it is serving families or other that
you see in need.
As you ask these questions to yourself, I challenge you to
really be open to the idea that a God centered and directed life will always be
the best way. It might not always be the
easiest, but it will always be the best.
We would love to know how we can be praying for you all in your
decisions and your paths!
For many of you it might mean (and we hope it’s many)
considering if God would send you back to CWE for another summer even if that
maybe doesn’t always make sense for you in every respect. We of course would love for God to send you
back to us!! God of course can use you
greatly there with our kids! For others
it might mean that, sadly the Lord is directing you elsewhere. And while that of course is sad for us, it is
great for whoever else you will be serving.
Where we serve is not really the point. The point is that we listen to God’s call for
us and that call is for us to 1) Know Him and 2) To make Him known.
While we all at some point will respond like Moses with lots
of excuses, I hope that we can come to a point where we respond more
openly. Even if we don’t, God will still
use us as he did Moses. But….here is my
prayer for all of us as we respond to God’s call. May we respond to God like the Prophet Isaiah
did below.
Isaiah
6:8 Then
I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for
us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Love you all!! Leslie
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