In the third chapter of Exodus, God appeared to Moses in a burning bush and told him to go Pharaoh and demand that the Israelites be released. Understandably, Moses felt unqualified. So God chose to show Moses that He was serious and would “have his back”. In chapter 4, God turned Moses’ staff into a snake and back to a staff again, and then He made Moses’ hand leprous and subsequently healed it. I don’t know about you, but I would be pretty blown away by a burning bush, a staff/snake, and a leprous hand and might have said “Wow! OK! I get it!” Moses, however, said (Fulton paraphrase), “That’s all well and good, but have you noticed I’m not a very good speaker?” So in Exodus 4:14, “Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses and He said, ‘what about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well…”(NIV). To me this is God saying (Fulton paraphrase again): “Really, Moses! What else do I need to do to show that I’ve got your back??”
As Kathy and I have been raising funds to go to Haiti over the past several months, God has shown us again and again that He “has our back”. However, over and over again, we (well, I—Mark) have said “yeah, but God, are you sure? We don’t know how to get a foreign visitor permit to live in Haiti. We can’t find a vehicle there. We don’t know of a decent place for us to live. We can’t raise the necessary funds. The clinic funding will suffer if our supporters turn funds to us. ““Etc, etc, etc. and God says “Really, Mark! What else do I need to do to show that I’ve got your back?” So many people have prayed for us, supported us and loved us that we have seen God in every turn. We are heading to Haiti to serve in January, and feel incredibly unqualified. Like Moses did generations ago, we have to be reminded again and again of His presence. Please, friends, help to remind us and as you look around you every day, may you know His support and presence as well. He’s got your back!*
*any comparison of Mark to Moses is truly laughable. Not only does Mark not have a staff, but he has not seen a burning bush, nor does he have a brother named Aaron. Mark is proof that God can use anyone!
No comments:
Post a Comment