Moses said to the LORD, “O LORD, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” Exodus 4:10
Excuses abound when a challenge seems overwhelming. Moses tried to avoid the challenge of liberating Israel. We try to avoid witnessing. But God persists. We are part of His plan.
Moses tries one more excuse, and God becomes angry with him. He claims that he is a poor speaker, lacking eloquence, slow of speech and tongue.
Before we condemn Moses for a feeble excuse, do we not plead the same deficiency? We often claim that we don’t have the right words or feel awkward. Strangely, we may be able to discuss current events, sports, and the weather at great length. But we freeze when trying to witness about Christ.
God reminds Moses that He is the one who gives us a mouth to speak. He also promises that He will help Moses speak and even teach him what to say. After Moses tries to bow out, God arranges for Aaron to be his spokesman. All excuses exhausted, Moses heads for Egypt to face his greatest challenge. God brings the victory.
The same God comes to us with His promise of help. He will help us speak and teach us what to say. He provides others to go with us and support us. He sent His Son to the cross for us. He has opened our eyes to see the cross and the empty tomb, the baptismal font and the bread and wine. We have seen, heard, tasted, and touched the living Christ. We have something to share with others. All excuses exhausted, we head for our witnessing challenge. God will bring the victory.
PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for giving me the words to speak and the courage to speak them. Help me to accept the witnessing challenge without excuses, so that many may come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. Amen.
(Devotions from “My Daily Devotion” by Dr. Stephen J. Carter, copyright 1988 CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time emailing of this link to a friend. For ordering information, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit www.cph.org.)