Commissioned by God - Treasures of Faith - Week 8 Day 4

TODAY'S TREASURE

He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 

Hebrews 11:26-27

Transcript

Commissioned by God

Chuck and Sharon Betters

Today’s Treasure

He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 

Hebrews 11:26-27

Just as God used imprisonment to shape Joseph into a strong and disciplined leader, He used exile to remove Moses from the distractions and political intrigues of Egypt.

God, in effect, hid Moses away for the next forty years in the wilderness, in Midian, a place where he would be trained to do the work of a spiritual leader. Moses had learned how to fight during his reign as a prince in Egypt. The battle that lay ahead of him, however, would be unlike any fight he had ever experienced. This battle would only be won if in close collaboration with the God of Israel.

After forty years in the desert, Moses met God in the form of a burning bush. God called Moses to a painful, difficult task: to confront Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses, awestruck, did not feel up to this task. His fall from power and his disgraceful flight from Egypt had left him filled with unanswered questions and self-doubt. Who was he, really? A nobody, to his way of thinking. And how could God use such a nobody to rescue His people? The task just seemed too big to Moses, and he wanted no part of it.

Shortly after Chuck graduated from seminary, an elderly retired pastor, a member of our inner-city church, asked Chuck to share his testimony. Chuck told the man how God had used his relationship with Sharon to confront him with his own need for Christ. In the tumultuous “dating years” before we were eventually married, God forced us both to come to grips with the fundamental issues of our faith—Chuck, a devout Catholic, and Sharon, a “lukewarm Presbyterian.” Finally, God literally stopped Chuck in his tracks: on the landing between the first and second floors of a university dormitory! Right then and there, in the stairwell, the Lord convicted Chuck of his sin, and he committed his life to Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.

After listening closely to the dramatic details of Chuck’s conversion, the wise old pastor told Chuck, kindly, that “whenever the demands of the ministry are so great that you want to quit, remember how God saved you. Sometimes a conversion is dramatic because the calling will be very difficult. I believe God has called you, Chuck, to a hard ministry journey that will be filled with great pain. Remember the glory of the moment you met Christ; it will carry you through the dark times.”

Many of us have not had a dramatic conversion experience or a “burning bush” encounter with God’s presence. But we have all heard the wails of our own self-doubt or have felt our wills balk at the work laid out before us; we’ve all felt inadequate when ministry opportunities require us to move out of our comfort zones and take “risks.” My attempts to write a book on the ministry of encouragement were hampered by my initial lack of confidence that God had really called me to this project. I decided I could not fulfill my obligations to those who had asked me to write it, and I wanted “out.” I cried, I prayed, and I argued with God about my inability to write, finally concluding that someone else would do a much better job. Like Moses, I doubted myself: “Who am I to write such a book? Why would anyone listen to me?”

I continued to rail against this ministry opportunity; it was really too much, I was too busy, and the whole thing was just way beyond my gifts and abilities. One day, stopped at a traffic light, in tears and at the end of my tether, I watched, frustrated and angry, as two large dump trucks laboriously pulled out in front of me. Late for a meeting and frankly annoyed about that daunting book project, I waited impatiently as these two huge, lumbering “land turtles” crawled out and slowly took their place. The two trucks, however, carried a message directly addressing my doubts and fears. On the back of each vehicle was painted in huge letters: “If the challenge is too big, your God is too small.”

I saw this message as a direct and gentle rebuke from God, and I realized that my eyes were looking more at my own limitations than at His enabling grace. As a believer, I knew, but had forgotten, that God had promised to be with me and that Treasures of Encouragement was not even my book—it was His. Chastened, I recommitted myself to the task before me, believing anew that God also equips those He calls.

LIFE-GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT

Tomorrow, we’ll dive a little deeper into Moses’ encounter with God, so for now, consider your own life. Is there a place where you feel inadequate to accomplish the God-given tasks before you? Are you a young mother, exhausted by the unending demands, piles of laundry, stretching the groceries to fit your budget, pulling out last year’s clothes for the kids, hoping they still fit? Perhaps your boss is demanding more time for a project that is way outside your comfort zone, but you don’t know how you will fulfill your obligations within the time frame he requires. Are you a weary caregiver, longing for just a few minutes to close your eyes, deeply regretful for the resentment you sometimes feel? Where is God reminding you, “If the challenge is too big, your God is too small”? Oh, friends, you are not alone in your struggles. Take courage, run to Jesus, and cry out your doubts and inadequacies to Him. And hear Him when He says, “You are not alone in this. I am here.”

PRAYER

Father, sometimes Your call on our lives terrifies us, wearies us, requires so much more than we believe we have to give. Thank You for Your grace and patience. Open our eyes to the truth that when You call, You equip. Amen.

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Adapted from Treasures of Faith by Chuck and Sharon Betters with permission from P&R Publishing

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