Help Me Fail by Anthony ThompsonÖrnek

Day 4: Moses' Doubt

Key Scripture: Exodus 4:10-12 - "Moses said to the Lord, 'Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent... I am slow of speech and tongue.' The Lord said to him, 'Who gave human beings their mouths?... Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.'"

During the early 2000s, I moved out to Los Angeles. I was not living for the Lord AT ALL, but I had a dream of making a splash in LA.

I grew up in a small town and was the son of a preacher.

Looking back, I can see how the devil used those things against me. Satan would bombard me with thoughts and feelings like, “I wasn’t good enough, smart enough, or talented enough.”

I felt like the only way to counter these destructive thoughts was to prove myself. I had to SHOW THE WORLD how talented I really was.

It was during this “proving” season that led me to Los Angeles.

My big idea was to become a celebrity publicist. I wanted to be THAT guy who was connected, and directing the careers of the famous.

After arriving in LA and breaking into the publicity business, I remember going to a tattoo shop.

LA is a hard place, and this was a VERY tough season for me. I was looking for some sort of courage and so I thought getting a tattoo would fix it. For the record, it did not fix anything, and hurt a ton!

I remember finding a tattoo shop in Los Feliz where I had the words, “Never Doubt Yourself” tattooed on my chest.

As I mentioned, I needed encouragement. Life was hard. I wasn’t making progress as fast as I would have hoped.

As I look in the mirror at that tattoo today, I grin to myself.

How blind I was that I thought “I” could do anything. That tattoo has been on my mind lately, as I’d like to have it crossed out and replaced with, “Never Doubt God.”

As I think about the significance of that tattoo, I am reminded of Moses in Exodus chapter four. The Lord appears to Moses and gives him the great task of delivering Israel.

At this point, Moses had been out in the wilderness for forty years.

He went from being famous in Egypt to being forgotten in the wilderness. Then the Lord shows up and Moses can only give God excuses why he’s not the guy.

Moses feels like a failure. He feels like he missed the boat. He considers the man he is forty years later and thinks to himself, “Me God? Nah, I don’t have what it takes.”

However, God is not looking for skills, He is looking for servants.

God can do anything.

Moses finally gets a revelation of the Lord and realizes he doesn’t need to trust himself, his gifts, his skills - he needs to trust in the Lord.

What about you? Are you believing in yourself more than the Lord?

Has life beaten you up and you see the only way forward as “doing it yourself?”

Maybe you failed like me in believing in yourself too much. Are you open to exploring what the Lord can do for you?

If He can transform my life, and Moses’ life - He can do something special with your life.

What if you “Never Doubted God?” What would that look like in your life?

I can remember when I felt like I failed God. Have you ever had that feeling like you missed the boat?

I’m here to remind you that you haven’t. The Master is calling you right now. ♥️

Your failure to trust can be transformed into fabulous faithfulness in the Lord.

Are you ready? I am believing you are. Go get it.

Thought-Provoking Questions:

• How can Moses' initial doubt and eventual leadership inspire you to lean on God's strength in areas where you feel inadequate?
• What doubts are holding you back from embracing the fullness of God's plan for your life, and how can you surrender these to Him today?

Daily Affirmation: Today, I will trust in God's strength to overcome my doubts. My inadequacies are the canvas for His power.