Protests or Praises?
David son of Jesse was not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. And yet I’m sure we all remember him as being “a man after God’s own heart.” A man who was given to bouts of reckless emotion. An adulterer. A murderer. True, his “good” outweighs his “bad” – but is one sin any less important than a thousand in the eyes of a righteous God?
After reading a song of David, this passionate man suddenly appeared to me in stark contrast to another very famous Biblical character. One who also received many blessings from God, but seemed to be always just shy of provoking God’s holy wrath.
“The LORD said… So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
But Moses said to God, ”Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt? ….O 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.”
The LORD said to him, ”Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD ? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”
But Moses said, ”O Lord, please send someone else to do it.”
Then the LORD’s anger burned against Moses…
(selected excerpts from Exodus 3 & 4 NIV)
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It’s easy to read that passage and just want to wring Moses’ neck! ”The Lord is blessing you, Moses! He’s speaking to you! He’s showing himself to you! Sure, he wants you to do a frightening thing…but everything pales in comparison to the I AM!” God promised to be with Moses. He told Moses what to do; He promised to tell him what to say.
The bottom line is: God had a plan, He wanted Moses to be His instrument to carry it out…but He was met with protest. He was met with fear, doubt, and insecurity. It seems foolish…protesting ”I’m not good enough!” in the very presence of Jehovah God who says “I am good enough FOR you.”
But we do the same thing. Over and over. We’re not good enough, qualified enough, spiritual enough, strong enough for this or that. We leave it to our more mature friends, our parents, or whoever- instead of seeing challenges as possible growth opportunities. Because God uses the flawed. He choses the small, the scared, the immature. The shepherds. The weakest links and the youngest sons.
David was one such boy. David was chosen by God to do some hard things, but David lifted his face in childlike trust…lifted his hands in childlike joy… and even through his blunders and sins, bowed before God, saying “Yes, Lord- if you say so. Use me!”
Moses couldn’t get past the awe of God’s majesty and his own fear and unworthiness. He protests. David takes the awe and instead praises God for his mercy and power, leaving his life and future in the Hands of the One who loves him best.
Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said: ”Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, O God, you have spoken about the future of the house of your servant. You have looked on me as though I were the most exalted of men, O LORD God.
”What more can David say to you for honoring your servant? For you know your servant, O LORD. For the sake of your servant and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made known all these great promises….
…”And now, LORD, let the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house be established forever. Do as you promised, so that it will be established and that your name will be great forever. Then men will say, ‘The LORD Almighty, the God over Israel, is Israel’s God!’ And the house of your servant David will be established before you.
”You, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a house for him. So your servant has found courage to pray to you. O LORD, you are God! You have promised these good things to your servant. Now you have been pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, O LORD, have blessed it, and it will be blessed forever.”
(1 Chronicles 17:16-27)
Time after time Moses doubted and protested, but eventually gave himself up to the Lord, and God allowed him to gaze upon the Promised Land before he died. This stands as an example of God’s mercy even in the face of our weakness. Yet…it also stands as an example of how much God is willing to bless us if we only accept it! There cannot be any “might’ves” about God’s plan for us…only let us consider whether God’s hand in our lives will be met with protests… or praises.
Filed under: Christian Living, Faith, Trusting God, Weakness