Accept the Call
Exodus 3:1-6, 10-15; 4:10-12
You have a purpose. You were not accidentally conceived or recklessly abandoned. The Creator intentionally planned your role and strategically placed you in his story of redemption. And God is calling you to fulfill that purpose.
You may be thinking to yourself that you are no Moses. That is good because God created you to be you. But you can examine the call of Moses to discover clues about your own calling from God.
Every call comes from an encounter with God (Exodus 3:1-6). Moses was at work minding his father-in-law’s business when God showed up and pointed him to his purpose. Notice that when God appears, the ordinary becomes extraordinary. Whatever ground God occupies (work, home or even the house of worship) and every person he touches becomes holy, because God is holy.
Every call follows God’s mission of redemption (Exodus 3:10-12). God does not want people to go hungry or oppressed, children to be abandoned, or men and women to be used and abused. God’s heart breaks when people live in broken relationships with him and others. As God did with Moses, God has given you his heart and calls you to get involved where he is working.
Every call comes from a personal relationship with God (Exodus 3:13-15). God gave Moses his personal name: YHWH (pronounced yah-we). Israelites did not say the name for fear of taking it in vain (Exodus 20:7). Rather, they said “the Lord” whenever God’s name appeared in Scripture. In respect of this tradition, English translators use the LORD (all caps) for YHWH.
Moses’ call, and yours, comes from a personal God who knows you and wants to be known through every generation.
Every call comes with the ability to carry out God’s mission (Exodus 4:10-12). Moses knew he could not do what God asked. But God reminded Moses who created him, who directed him and who called him. God prepared Moses for this task all of his life through Moses’ culture; his sense of destiny; his family and friends; Moses’ relationship with God; his difficult and commonplace experiences (see “A Work of Heart,” Reggie McNeal, 2000, Jossey-Bass). God has prepared you for the task to which he is calling.
But how will you know God will be with you? Moses wondered this about his calling. God told him he would know when it was all over (Exodus 6:12). Then he would celebrate God right where he began. You, too, will look back and be amazed at how God will lead you through your life’s adventure!
Scudder– Lessons in the BSL series for the fall quarter are being written by Steve Scudder, former director of missions for Savannah River Association.