In Exodus 3, God chooses Moses to carry out a plan that seems impossible. Moses, feeling overwhelmed, inadequate, and incompetent asks: “Who am I, that I should go?” God reassures Moses with a liberating promise: “I will be with you."
In 2010, we stumbled upon this familiar story. We too, were feeling overwhelmed, inadequate, and incompetent. Our hearts were still in love with Jesus, but we were burned out, weary, and unsure of how to make it better. We've read this story countless times, but this time it was different. We were struck by what God doesn't choose to say. He doesn't try to reassure Moses that he has what it takes; that his upbringing, his skill set, or his training would be enough. Instead, this is what He says ...
"I will be with you."
Those words of God not only bring power, but freedom, as well. Sometimes we carry a burden we're not meant to carry. We look for a process or a plan to help answer the nagging internal questions like, "Am I enough?", "Do I have what it takes?", "Am I doing this right?" In other seasons, we may be overly confident in our own abilities or performance. We might even have a tendency to rely on our own strengths, and mistakenly think, "I am enough", "I have what it takes", "I am absolutely doing this right".
When we look at the story of Moses, we learn a lot from what God doesn't say, but we also learn a lot from what He does say. In the same way that God affirmed Moses by proclaiming, “I will be with you,” He whispers those sacred words to us, as well. In fact, over 100 times in Scripture, we find those very words ..."I AM withyou".
We realize the burden isn't ours to carry. The freedom comes when we truly believe that He is with us, and that is enough. Our identity is not in our doing for Him, but instead, in our being in Him. He brings order and clarity to our longings, when we understand and receive His Covenant Love. We can remember and rest in who He is, and who He's already created us to be.
When you believe that God is withyou ...the rest will follow.
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” -Jesus (Matthew 11:28-30 MSG)