I’ve come to the point in my daily devotionals where I’m reading about Moses in Exodus again, and this morning I was struck with a new perspective.

For those who don’t know, Moses was a man who was saved from genocide as an infant. He was found by Pharaoh’s daughter, that is, the daughter of the man who was the ultimate slave-driver of the Hebrews, who ordered for new-born male Hebrews to be killed when Moses was an infant. This means that Moses was a Hebrew, survived genocide, was brought up by Pharoah’s daughter in Pharaoh’s palace, unharmed—only by the grace of God. The fact that he made it to adulthood alive was nothing short of a miracle.

Out of anyone, Moses should have known that God’s hand was on his life. When God appeared to him in the burning bush, Moses was taken aback by God’s glory. In Exodus chapter 3, verses 7-10, God assures Moses that He will rescue the Israelites from their suffering. God shows Moses how He will be with him through it all, showing Moses the miracles that God will demonstrate through him.

But Moses protests. He doesn’t just protest once, or twice, or even three times. He protests five times. “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11). “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” (Exodus 3:13). “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’” (Exodus 4:1). “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue,” (Exodus 4:10). “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else,” (Exodus 4:13).

God could have chosen anyone else for this purpose. For example, He could have chosen Moses’ older brother Aaron, the firstborn, but God chose Moses. Still, out of Moses’ protest, God, out of His love, allows Aaron to speak for Moses.

What became clear to me was that God’s intention was to work through Moses alone to deliver the Israelites. His original ask was for Moses, not Moses and Aaron. I wonder if Moses ever regretted shifting his speaking responsibility to Aaron. I wonder how much more fulfilled Moses would have been, and how much greater God’s impact would have been should Moses have leaned into faith and stepped out into the unknown. But even with Moses’ faithless protests, God still provided a way.

God has an intention for your life, too. Is there a calling on your life that you’ve been saying no to? That you’ve been making excuses for? Are you saying you “can’t” because you’re insecure about your abilities? Your past? Are you afraid of how people will perceive you?

“But Sarah, you don’t understand”. Your fears may be valid. But there’s a reason why God called you. He didn’t call your sibling for this task, your friend, your parent, your neighbour; He called you. I’m really glad that this passage exists in our scriptures, so that we know that we’re not alone in our fear; in reading scripture, we get to read how ordinary people were transformed into spiritual giants.

Your fears may be valid, but there’s someone bigger than all fear. And if that someone is calling you, what are you doing about it? What are you going to do about it? Are you going to say “Please Lord, don’t send me”, or are you going to move forward with God’s promise on your life?