Have you ever felt small? Smaller than small? Has God ever laid a dream on your heart and you thought, “Yah right!” Or, “That sounds too big for me, maybe someone else can do that, but not me.” Or maybe you just didn’t want that responsibility? Many people in the Bible thought the same way we do today and faced our same challenges—the challenge to believe in God’s constant presence and power in our lives.
In Exodus 3:7-12a, The Lord told Moses that he had seen and heard the crying of the Israelites in their slavery and that He was concerned for them.
(Verses 8a,10-12a) So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey…So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” And God said, “I will be with you…”
What if the answer to all your questions was one simple phrase from God—I will be with you.
Have you ever seen Bear Grylls, former British special forces, lead amateur hikers over what seems to be impossible feats out in the mountains, forests, or deserts? The people are so nervous, but Bear assures them that they can do it, and that he will be right there teaching them what to do along the way—he won’t leave them. Why? Because he knows good and well that they would be helpless without him. They wouldn’t even know how to cross the log, climb the mountain wall, or exactly where to jump off the cliff into the water below. He is the expert and they are the novices. God is our expert on everything. He knows what we can accomplish with His hand on us.
Friends, God is our “how.” We are not the “how.” Often times, when God tells us to do something, it seems like we might have an idea of how to do it, but when we start looking at the details we think—Wait! I can’t do this. I won’t know how—and we quickly backpedal and step away from our own Mt. Everest.
Story after story in the Bible, God calls his children to do impossible things, but his answer is the same, “Fear not. I will be with you.” When an angel tells Mary that she will give birth to the “Son of the Most High,” she asked, “How will this be since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.”
Wow! I want the power of the Most High to overshadow me—don’t you? He can overshadow all of our shortcomings with his grace, and together with Him we can scale mountains, cross rivers, and go into our promised land. But, we must believe that He loves us, He is for us, and He will never leave us.
So let God pack your backpack for this next trip in life, comfort your heart, and let’s be on our way. He is with us!
Prayer: Lord, we need you. I ask for your Holy Spirit to come upon me and overshadow me. I ask for favor with my family, friends, co-workers, and bosses. Lord, if you have called me to do this, then I will step out in faith and trust in your power to be my – how, when, where and what. I know the truth — You are God and you are always with me! So I bless my life to be full of God’s purpose and confidence. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen!
