Have you felt bogged down…stuck…frozen in a place you’d rather not be? What led you here? Who’s idea was it to follow this path? Was it your plan or did the Lord send you? Was it your dream or his?
When feeling stuck, those questions bring clarity.
If the Lord sent me—if this is a dream he put in my heart—then he’s with me in this place…and I can trust him to show me what’s next.
The life of Moses encourages me.
Remember the burning-bush encounter? God initiated that whole bringing-my-people-out-of-slavery-in-Egypt thing. That was an overwhelming assignment, especially considering Moses wasn’t the most popular man in Egypt. He’d fled for his life after impulsively murdering an Egyptian for mistreating a fellow Hebrew.
After hiding out forty years in the wilderness, Moses heard the Lord speak in a flaming bush, assigning him a huge mission: “…I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
Moses said, “Who am I, that I should go…?”
God said, “I will be with you.”
“What if they do not believe me or listen to me?” God gave him miraculous signs to convince the people.
Moses objected that he was “slow of speech and tongue.” The Lord said, “Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”
Moses ran out of excuses. “O Lord, please send someone else to do it.”
Have you ever had that conversation? Lord, it’s too big! I’m inadequate. Send somebody else!
God allowed Moses’ brother Aaron to go with him and promised, “I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do.”
Take time to read the full account beginning in Exodus 3. Notice how God repeatedly assured Moses he wasn’t doing this on his own: say to the Israelites…go to Pharaoh and say to him…
Moses had one responsibility: to follow instruction. God told him what to say and what to do. Moses just obeyed, and God took care of everything else.
It was God’s idea!
Early on, Moses asked the Lord what to tell the Israelites if they asked who sent him. God told him to say, “I AM has sent me to you.” Simple meaning: I am everything you need.
When he sends us, we can go confidently because it’s his idea and he’s everything we need.
Decision is the cure for stuck. “I will go in the strength of the Lord God: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only” (Psalm 71:16).
I Don’t Chase the Garbage Truck Down the Driveway in My Bathrobe Anymore
Dianne Barker
Dianne Barker is a speaker, radio host, and author of 11 books, including the best-selling Twice Pardoned and award-winning I Don’t Chase the Garbage Truck Down the Street in My Bathrobe Anymore! Organizing for the Maximum Life. She’s secretary of Christian Authors Network and a member of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association and Christian Women in Media Association. Visit www.diannebarker.com.
