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The two hurdles of God’s will
The record for the 110-meter hurdles is held by Dayron Robles of Cuba, at 12.87 seconds—a difference of more than 3 seconds over the dash (9.58 seconds), which is an eternity in “sprint time.” But it’s not the extra 10 meters that slows the pace—it’s the hurdles. Ten 3.5-foot hurdles are staggered throughout the 110-meter distance, slowing the runners’ pace even if each one is cleared perfectly!
What did the God of compassion say? He told Moses He had seen the misery of His people, and He had a plan to deliver them —a plan that included Moses.
At this point, however, Moses the shepherd turned into Moses the sheepish. He said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”. God assured Moses that He would go with him. Then Moses voiced another concern: “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”.
Again, God reassured Moses: “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you”’. Then God instructed Moses on exactly what he was to say and do, and what would happen when he did! But Moses wasn’t done objecting. He saved his two tallest “hurdles” for last. He first asked, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me, and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’?”.
What if they don’t believe me or listen to me? What if they doubt that I really saw God or heard His voice? The first hurdle in knowing and following God’s will involves “they.” Who are “they”? They’re the remarkably ambiguous but powerful voices of doubt and dissent. They are the unidentified ones whose opinions we fear and whose favor we’d like to have. Someone has said that the desire for the approval of others can cause us to spend money we don’t have, to buy things we don’t need, to impress people we don’t even know! They say what is the currently fashionable or acceptable. They are an unnamed powerful influencer. “They” can be intimidating, can’t they?
You can get Gregg Matte’s book by clicking on Finding God's Will.
About this Plan
Hurdles can impede us in finding and doing the will of God. Moses, our “guide” in discovering the God of God’s will, drew near to the burning bush on the backside of nowhere, and heard God speak to him there. But as soon as Moses heard what God had to say, he encountered two significant hurdles— and those same two things can become barriers for you and me.
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