He Qualifies the Called

If you didn't know anything about Moses and he walked into your church to interview for the position of Senior Pastor, would you and the rest of the Pastoral Search Committee hire him? Looking at his resume would provoke more questions than answers. His background was a bit sketchy - he fled Egypt after killing a man and then spent the next forty years on the run tending goats and sheep for a man who would become his father-in-law. Those last forty years of his life stand out because he did nothing of significance. Did I mention he was now eighty years old, had no relevant leadership experience, and had a speech impediment? Chances are good that he would not be hired by any Committee because he did not fit the profile of a senior leader. Good intentions wasn't going to cut it. The ability to communicate effectively, strong leadership skills along with the ability to plan, organize and coordinate were some of the key requirements for the position.

However, that is from our human perspective. Because one day while tending the goats and sheep on the backside of the desert, he had an encounter with the God of Abraham, Jacob and Issac, who - after a series of events - told him, "Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt" (Exodus 3:10, KJV). Moses' reaction was understandable! "Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?" (v.11). In other words, "Who, me? Go to Egypt and lead out almost two million Israelites? God, are you crazy?" But God would not be denied; Moses was His man - "And he [God] said, Certainly I will be with thee" (v.12a). Moses reminded God, "O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say" (vv. 10-12).

Do you see a bit of yourself in Moses? In looking at yourself you have no idea why God would call you to do the things He has called you to do. In your eyes and those of others, you are not qualified. Yet, of all the people that God could have called, He called you. It is important to understand that He doesn't necessarily call the qualified, but He always qualifies the called. It is not so much what you bring to Him that He needs because just as He transformed Moses' staff from a stick to a conduit of His power, so He is more than able to transform your inadequacies into conduits of His grace. It is not what we think of ourselves that is important but rather what God thinks of us.

What has God called you to do that you feel you are not qualified for? Rest assured that He was intimately aware of your deficiencies before He called you yet He called you still. It is in your weaknesses that He shows Himself strong, so much so that when all is said and done, He gets the glory because you could not have done it without Him. Trust Him that He knows what He is doing. Your challenge is to go out and do as He say, knowing fully well that "certainly [He] will be with thee" every step of the way.