Moses Had Doubts About his Calling – Do You? (Part 2)

(Note: This is part 2 of a two-part article that will explore the long conversation Moses had with Yahweh at the burning bush. Moses expressed five doubts about his qualifications to fulfill his calling as God’s co-deliverer of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. I invite you to check out Part 1 here.)

Let me summarize what I discussed in my previous article:

• God declared He would deliver the Israelites from bondage
• God planned to use Moses to participate with Him in the delivering
• Moses’s first doubt was about his ability to do the job (“Who am I?”)
• God replied that He would be with Moses as they delivered the Israelites

Please join me as I unpack the four remaining objections Moses gave to God.

Objection #2 – What should I tell them?

Moses’ next doubt was based on his lack of knowledge about who God is. Perhaps he felt that he didn’t know enough. You can hear Moses’s internal struggle. I believe He sincerely wanted to obey, but he was stuck. In Exo. 3:13, he inquires, “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?”

God responded by revealing His name. He is the great “I AM” (Exo. 3:14). The Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary gives us some insight on this declaration: “This name is connected with some form of the verb ‘to be’ and is to be seen as expressing the nature, character, and essence of the promise in v. 12: ‘I will be with you.’ . . . Therefore, the formula means ‘I am truly he who exists and who will be dynamically present then and there in the situation to which I am sending you.”

God ties His name with two elements in time that reveal who He is. We see a link to the past through His relationship with the patriarchs. Twice, God instructed Moses to tell the Israelites that He is the “the God of your fathers – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Exo. 3:15-16). He had also stated it at the beginning of this encounter (Exo. 3:6). Yahweh then explains to Moses what He will do in the future to deliver them (Exo 3:17-22).

Have you ever felt this way? Do you feel underqualified to begin the journey God is calling you to because you don’t know enough about God? How has God revealed Himself to you in the past in such a way so that you know enough about God’s faithfulness in your life to give you confidence in the future?

Objection #3 – What if they don’t believe me?

Moses’s next concern was not focused on himself, but on others’ response to his leadership. He asked, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” (Exo. 4:1). He was not sure the Israelites were going to trust him in this new role.

Let us look at God’s response. God had a plan to give people proof that Moses had been divinely appointed for this mission. He enabled Moses to perform miracles such as turning a wooden staff into a snake that would demonstrate God’s power and make them believe (Exo. 4:2-5).

I too, have had a hard time seeing myself as a confident leader. Although I found myself in leadership positions while I was on active duty and in my current position, there were many times I wondered, “If I lead, will people actually follow me?” Will they trust me? Will they do what I ask them to do?

What about you? Are you more comfortable working behind the scenes than leading a team? Do you lack confidence? You are in good company. What may help is to remember that if God placed you in charge, trust Him to lead you. Let your confidence be in God. People will follow someone like that.

Objection #4 – I am not eloquent

We read in Exo. 4:10, Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, 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.” Moses, like many others whom God called to a higher purpose, assessed that he fell short. Speaking confidently to influence foreign leaders as well as his own people was way out of his comfort zone.

God’s initial response was to remind Moses that He alone had the power to enable or disable man’s abilities to hear, to speak, or to see. And, since He called Moses to be His spokesman, He was indeed qualified. God nudges, “Now go: I will help you speak and will teach you what to say” (Exo. 4:12).

Despite Moses’s self-evaluated speech impediment, God had designed Moses with the physical, mental, and spiritual capacity needed to be His co-deliverer. Moses did not seem to remember that God had deliberately prepared him for this immense task and set him apart from birth for such a time as this. (See Esther 4:14.) God delivered Moses as a baby so that Moses could deliver the Israelites.

I have also felt many times that I was unqualified in so many ways to answer God’s call to serve. What about you? Although you sense the Spirit of God leading you to take part in a ministry, small or large, that will change the lives of people, deep down inside, do you wish God had chosen someone else?

#5 – Send someone else

Moses’ final objection to God’s calling takes a dark turn. When Moses heard God’s voice at the burning bush in Exo. 3:4, he eagerly declared, “Here I am,” After all the encouragement God gave to Moses in their conversation, he cried, “Oh, Lord, please send someone else to do it” (Exo. 4:13). This is in stark contrast to the prophet Isaiah’s more submissive response, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isa. 6:8).

We read God’s response in Exo. 4:14. It says, “Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses.” However, it appears to be short lived. God graciously responded to Moses’s desperate plea for understanding with respect to his speech impediment by adding his brother Aaron to the package. He would speak what Moses was taught by God needed to be said (Exo. 4:15-16).

What about you? Are there coworkers whom God has brought into your life to help you in your weaknesses? Has God brought you along to help someone else and be their enabling partner? Recently, I was reminded by a sister in Christ at her promotion ceremony about how God often brings others alongside us when we are facing challenges that we are unable to accomplish all by ourselves.

At the end of the day, the elders and the people did believe Moses, just as God said they would (Exo. 4:29-31). Despite all of Moses’ objections, God used him in a mighty way to deliver the Israelites.

Closing thoughts

We have discussed Moses’s response to his calling from God. I think all of us can identify with his doubts. Do you feel inadequate to take on the mission God has called you to do? Do you know enough? Do you have the right skills? Perhaps, like Moses, we may wonder if God made a mistake in calling us.

Calling is not that complicated. God calls each of us to biblically significant relationships: to God, our family, employer, church, government, neighbor, and ourselves. These relationships have inherent responsibilities.

We are called when we accept the gifts God gives: when we become Christians, get married, have a baby, get a job, etc. Did God give you a wife? Then love her as Christ loved the church, sacrificially and selflessly. Did God give you a child? Then love that child and teach him or her the ways of the Lord. Did God bless you with a decent job, a growing church, a neighborhood? Then love and serve others.

I am reminded of an old praise song: “He is able, more than able, to accomplish what concerns me today. He is able, more than able to handle anything that comes my way. He is able, more than able to do much more than I could ever dream. He is able, more than able, to make me what He wants me to be.”

About the author:

Russell E. Gehrlein (Master Sergeant, U.S. Army, Retired) is a Christian, husband of 43 years, father of three, grandfather of five, and author of the book, Immanuel Labor – God’s Presence in our Profession: A Biblical, Theological, and Practical Approach to the Doctrine of Work, published by WestBow Press in February 2018. He received a Master of Arts in biblical studies from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary in 2015. He is passionate about helping his brothers and sisters in Christ with ordinary jobs understand that their work matters to God and that they can experience His presence at work every day. He has written more than 350 articles on a variety of faith and work and other topics; 160 of them have been published or posted over 300 times on Christian organization’s websites, including the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics, Coram Deo, Nashville Institute for Faith + Work, Made to Flourish, The Gospel Coalition, and the Christian Grandfather Magazine.