Word for the day by CEF

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A Difficult Mission                                                          
Exodus 4: 1-9

“This”, said the Lord “is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers- the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob- has appeared to you.” (Exodus 4: 5)
When an ambassador is appointed, he carries with him a letter of credence, to be provided to the Head of State of the other country. This legitimizes his mission. After Lord’s appearance to Moses in the burning bush, God entrusted Moses with the mission to deliver the Israelites. It was a great mission to deliver the slave like Israelites from the mighty power of Pharaoh.  Moses made excuses at first. We can empathize with his reluctance. Imagine a person walking into the Pharaoh’s court dressed in shepherd’s garb and holding a staff asking for an audience with the Pharaoh. It is understandable that he felt ill at ease. He wanted to be better credentialed. “What if they do not believe me?”
God transforms ordinary things for extra ordinary purposes: The King of Kings could have provided any acceptable credential, but chose to use what was in Moses’ hand to prove who was behind the mission. God empowered him through the interaction and signs. The Lord said to Moses to throw his staff on the ground and it became a serpent. This sign taught him a new lesson. Only God can take ordinary things and use them for extraordinary purpose. Do we at times think, “I am too ordinary and that I do not have much to offer, so why even try?” It is clear from these verses that when we follow the dictates of our sovereign God, even a shepherd’s staff can turn into a powerful weapon. However even after you accept the mission, it may not progress seamlessly.  Moses faced many obstacles from both the Pharaoh and his own people. What we see is that Moses persevered in his mission in spite of these setbacks and ultimately delivered the Israelites from bondage.
Lessons for our mission:
Even though we may feel ill equipped to accept the mission, we need to put our trust in God, for whom the Lord calls, He will equip.
It is imperative to persevere in spite of impediments, for ultimate deliverance will be ours as the mighty hand of the Lord is behind His mission.
“When we walk with the Lord in the light of His word  What a glory He sheds on our way While we do His good will, He abides with us still  And with all who will trust and obey”   -John Sammis.
Prayer: Dear Lord, Grant us grace to discern your will and submit ourselves to it.
 Prayer: Dear Lord, Grant us grace to discern your will and submit ourselves to it.






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