When the problem is "I can't"

Pastor Damon Covalt continued his series on surrender, which he defined as relinquishing full control. Last week Abraham surrendered his plans. This week Moses would teach the church to surrender its limitations, because sometimes we are not holding on too tightly so much as unsure we are capable of what God is asking. He read from Exodus 3 and 4, where God appears to Moses in a burning bush on the backside of the desert and sends him to bring Israel out of Egypt.

Who am I?

In Exodus 3:11 Moses asks, "Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh?" God does not answer by telling Moses how great he is. He says in verse 12, "Certainly I will be with thee," and turns the focus back on Himself. Pastor Covalt then pointed to Acts 7:22-25, which says that at 40 years old Moses was "mighty in words and in deeds" and supposed his brethren would understand "how that God by his hand would deliver them." He had the can-do attitude then, never asked God how, killed an Egyptian, and ran for 40 years. At 80, tending his father-in-law's sheep, he had swung to "Who am I?" Either way, Pastor Covalt said, Moses was still thinking it had to do with him, when he would only be the vessel.

When "I can't" gets in the way of "God can," we have a problem. Christians avoid teaching a Sunday school class because they feel they do not know enough, witnessing to a coworker for fear of a hard question, or serving because of past mistakes or because someone else seems more qualified. But if God wants to use someone, He is not going to use our strength. He is going to use His own.

Point one: Let go of your past

God does not define you by your past. Before he became Israel's deliverer, Moses was a murderer on the run. Pastor Covalt told of speaking to a man while out soul winning who said he had done too much. Some of the greatest men in the Bible made terrible mistakes, he said, and Paul began as Saul, who had Christians jailed and killed. However large the mistake, God can forgive it, and when He does He removes it as far as the east is from the west. A driver who misses an exit and ends up miles off course does not give up on the destination. He finds the turns that get him back. And God did not ask Moses whether he felt ready. He told him what was going to happen. We see only our own puzzle piece, Pastor Covalt said, and have never seen the picture on the box, so it is better to let the One who designed the whole thing decide where it goes.

If you cannot overcome the past, you will not be able to grow. Galatians 5:1 says to "stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." He recalled a preacher who compared forgiven sin to heavy baggage left at the altar, and said we often go back and pick it up. Moses could have stayed in Midian, comfortable, for the rest of his life. God called him back to the very country he had fled. Some listeners already know what God is asking of them, whether teaching, ushering, helping with security, or even preaching, and have answered, "Who am I?" You cannot allow yesterday to make every decision for tomorrow.

Learn from your mistakes without dwelling on them. God does not ask us to pretend the past never happened, but to learn, repent where needed, and obey. When God calls you, He has already factored in your strengths, your weaknesses, and your sins. It may be that the very step He is asking you to take is what will help you through the thing you are using as an excuse. Pastor Covalt told of a security officer on his team who, sure of himself, gave the fire department the wrong building address during an elevator entrapment. He could have quit. He learned to double-check instead. God does not call the qualified, he said; He qualifies those He chooses to call. Philippians 1:6 says He "which hath begun a good work in you will perform it."

Point two: Let go of your insecurity

In Exodus 4:10 Moses says, "I am not eloquent," and calls himself "slow of speech, and of a slow tongue." God had not discovered that limitation after calling him. He answers in verses 11 and 12, "Who hath made man's mouth?" and promises, "I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say." God did not wave away Moses' concern. He promised to help. If God created you, Pastor Covalt said, can He not equip you? We tell God we are not much of a speaker, a leader, or an extrovert, and we use every excuse in the book to justify ignoring Him.

He compared it to the fear of finishing on-the-job training, when it is suddenly all on you. But if God sent you, it is not all on you. He also told of having a one-inch thorn removed from his arm by a doctor. He was fine with that doctor holding the scalpel, but he would not have been fine with someone on their first day. The value of a tool is in the hands of the one using it. We should not confuse a lack of confidence in ourselves with a reason to lack confidence in God.

Point three: Let go of your excuses

Excuses can sound reasonable even while they keep us from obeying. Moses offered five, and God answered each one.

"I am not qualified" (Exodus 3:11). God answered, "Certainly I will be with thee."

"I do not know what to say" (Exodus 3:13). God told him to say, "I AM hath sent me unto you."

"They will not believe me" (Exodus 4:1). God gave him signs: the rod that became a serpent, the hand made leprous and healed, and water turned to blood.

"I do not have the ability" (Exodus 4:10). God answered, "Who hath made man's mouth?"

"Send someone else" (Exodus 4:13). Here "the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses," because the last objection revealed what was really underneath. God still provided Aaron to help him.

The progression runs from "I am not qualified" to "I do not want to," Pastor Covalt said, and it is like a child with an endless list of questions about cleaning a room. We want to see God work, but we do not want to be the one used. There is a difference between "I can't" and "I won't." If God removed every excuse you have been giving Him, would you actually be willing to obey? He compared it to people who raise endless objections about God and, when asked whether they would believe if Jesus Himself appeared in front of them, still say they do not know. The issue at that point is not the evidence. They do not want to. Excuses do not only keep us from doing something, he said. They can keep us from becoming someone. Moses went on to confront Pharaoh, see the plagues, lead Israel out of Egypt, watch the Red Sea part, receive God's law on Sinai, and intercede for his people. Think what would have been missed, not just in Moses' life but in the life of every Israelite, if he had given in to his excuses. One person in the room could lead one person to the Lord who goes on to start a revival. As Joshua 24:15 says, "as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

What is that in thine hand?

In Exodus 4:2 God asks Moses, "What is that in thine hand?" and he answers, "A rod." Moses had been focused on everything he lacked: confidence, eloquence, credibility, authority. God asked about something he already had, an ordinary stick he had used countless times with the sheep, and used it in extraordinary demonstrations of His power, including at the Red Sea. Moses had a rod, David had a sling, and the boy had five loaves and two fishes. If God calls you, He will equip you. Let go of your past, because God knew what Moses had done. Let go of your insecurity, because God knew what Moses could not do. Let go of your excuses, because God had already told Moses what was going to happen. Stop telling God what you cannot do, he said, and start asking what He wants to do through you.