Who am I?

 When Moses saw the burning bush and went over to see why it was not burning up, God spoke to him from the bush.  God told Moses to take off his shoes because the ground he was standing on was holy. It was important that Moses knew he was having a divine encounter and not just seeing an interesting phenomenon. God then introduced himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and Moses hid his face for he thought if he looked at God he would die.  God then outlined the plan he had for releasing his people from Egyptian slavery and told Moses, by name, that he had been carefully selected by God to go and speak to Pharaoh! 

Moses reaction is immediate and desperate, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’  Exodus 3:11. God’s response is not to answer Moses’ question directly but to tell Moses that he will be with him.  The point being that who you are is not nearly as important as who is with you especially if that person is God for then you will be fine. Moses of course was not convinced and asked God what his name was in case the Israelites asked him. God’s response was, ‘I AM WHO I AM. Tell the Israelites I AM has sent me to you.’  Names in the Bible are not just labels but an indication of the character of the person. God is saying that He is everything that Moses or anyone else will need. 

Moses’ increasingly desperate attempts to get out of this God-given assignment touch something inside each one of us who is looking to our own resources and character to fulfil God’s tasks.  Moses’ final plea was, ‘Please send someone else (Ex 4:13). But Moses was God’s man for the job because God knew that as he worked in and through Moses, God’s plan for the release from slavery of the Israelites would be successful.

We too can have a ‘Who am I?’ mentality and like Moses either argue with God or worse still we just don’t do what God is asking of us.  I have heard so many people say, ‘O I couldn’t possibly’.  The problem is we are looking to ourselves and not to God.  The minute we disqualify ourselves from God’s plans for our lives, we miss out on a great opportunity to bless others and be a blessing.

God knows our strengths and weaknesses and he will not ask us to do anything for which he has not equipped us.  God loves us and will always be there guiding and helping.  He truly is everything we need and we can trust him that as we step out in faith, he will be there.  He will not let us down.  Moses found this to be true and so can we.