STRETCHED

Exodus 4:11 “Now go, and do as I have told you. I will help you speak well, and I will tell you what to say.”

Have you ever noticed that God often calls us to do things we're not comfortable doing? It is a simple principle–God often wants to stretch us. He will be sure to place us in situations that test our self-conceived limits. Why? God often calls us to do something to see if we trust Him enough to obey Him, even when it doesn't make sense to us.

Bottom line, God doesn't need our abilities, but He does demand our availability. In Exodus, God asked Moses a question. "What is that in your hand?" For Moses, it was his walking staff. God told him to throw it down and when Moses did, it turned into a snake. Showing good judgment, Moses turned and ran. I hate snakes, don't you? Then God told Moses to pick the snake up by the tail. Everybody knows you don't pick a snake up by the tail, instead, you grab them…..who am I kidding? You should never grab a snake. Nevertheless, Moses followed the command of the Lord. When he did, it turned back into a staff.

If you continue reading in Exodus chapter four, you will see that Moses spent a lot of time telling God why he was unable to follow God’s commands. What I find interesting, even a little comical in this story is that at no time did God say to Moses, “Do you think you can deliver my people from bondage?” God was completely secure though, in his ability to turn the heart of Pharaoh and to bring freedom to the captive Hebrews. Probably all the more reason that he chose someone who was insecure in his own abilities, was a terrible public speaker, and was a past failure (see Exodus chapter 2). There would be no question that God was solely responsible for these miracles. So, Moses was placed in a situation that would try his limits and he would do it in a place where he had personally fallen from grace. I’m sure that there were several times that Moses thought, “if I had just stayed in the wilderness…”

I can think of so many times that I have felt stretched by God. And, just like Moses, I have grumbled and whined. I have declared to God that the things he was asking were way beyond my abilities and even farther away from my comfort zone. But what I see now is that that was exactly the point. The situations that God puts us in are often as much about the work he is doing within us as they are the actual task at hand. The lessons that Moses learned at the burning bush and in Pharaoh’s palace would serve him well at the Red Sea, at Sinai, and especially in the moments that he faced an angry mob of Israelites.

God will accomplish his intended task, with or without us. But, because he loves you and me, he chooses to teach us valuable lessons and deeply enrich our lives along the way. It requires stretching. It requires discomfort. You may find yourself doing something you never thought you would. Remember, you are there for a purpose. God is stretching you. God is expanding you for even greater things. Now go and do as he tells you. He will help you. And you will accomplish great things.