Issue #211, July 12, 2017
God answered all of Moses’ questions and objections. Still, Moses is not willing to lead! But Moses said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it." Then the LORD's anger burned against Moses and he said, "What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and his heart will be glad when he sees you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. (Exodus 4:13-15). This final objection of Moses was also not framed as a question. He simply asked God to get someone else to do the job! What was Moses question? He was weighing the cost. Was he actually willing to take the leadership role God was asking him to take? Would he trust God with all his questions? Was he willing to pay the price to lead! These are questions of intent or willingness. All servant leaders can learn from Moses how to willingly accept the call to lead.
Willingness analyses the cost.
Moses seemed to think that the cost was too great. Perhaps he recognized that his own life would be in danger when he returned to Egypt. Maybe he thought about the cost of calling people to follow and speaking in places he did not want to go. It was easier to think of remaining in the dessert watching sheep. Sheep didn’t talk back! Shepherding was not a spiritual battle. The cost of leading sheep was minimal; the cost of leading a nation was great. Like Moses, many look at leadership and conclude that the cost is simply too high. Servant leaders are not afraid to count the cost. They recognize that they cannot genuinely accept the call to lead before they have analyzed the cost. But they cannot look only at the cost to determine willingness. They learn from Moses to go further. When God calls, servant leaders lay aside their own will and accept His plan with joy. They count the cost and then proceed.
Willingness accepts help.
Moses was asking God to release him from the call to lead. God was angry with Moses at this point. Why? Moses was focused on self and what he wanted rather than accepting God’s call. But in spite of His anger, God offers Aaron to assist Moses. He provides a team for Moses. Some leaders don’t want to move at all. Others are determined to do great things by themselves. But servant leaders acknowledge their need for a team around them. They are willing to move forward with the people God provides. They gain the courage to face difficult leadership challenges because God brings others to help them.
Willingness acknowledges history.
God had one more step to encourage Moses to be willing. But take this staff in your hand so you can perform miraculous signs with it (Exodus 4:17). What was God doing? He was reminding Moses of what had already happened. It was recent history but God wanted Moses to recall what He had already done. He also assured Moses that the men who wanted to kill him in the past were dead. When servant leaders struggle to accept God’s call they gain courage by looking back at the ways God has been with them. As they recall the past, they gain courage for the future.
At this point, Moses was finally willing to lead. No more questions! He went home and moved his family to Egypt. All leaders must make a choice to be willing to lead. Servant leaders listen to God answer Moses’ questions as they consider His call. They recognize the cost but they accept others to assist them and acknowledge how God has led them in the past. And then they are willing to say, “Yes Lord, I will do what you are calling me to do.”
For further reflection and discussion:
- Have I counted the cost for the leadership to which God has called me? Am I able to put aside my own reservations to accept the call? Are there ways that my selfish responses make God angry with me? What can I learn from God’s encounter with Moses?
- Who are the people God has provided to assist me in fulfilling His call? How do their lives help me be willing to continue? How can I appropriately thank Him? How can I thank them?
- What has God done with my life in the past? How does He want this history to prepare me for the future?