Mensa Otabil - The Sufficiency of God
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Exodus 4, verse 11 and 12. So the Lord said to him, «Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have I not the Lord? Now therefore, go, and I’ll be with your mouth and teach you what to say.»
God is speaking to Moses in very strong terms because Moses misses the essence of this encounter with God, this encounter where God reveals Himself to Moses as «I am that I am.» But anytime Moses speaks to God, he says, «I am not.» Instead of seeing the sufficiency of God, he sees his own insufficiency before the great I AM. How can you say, «I am not» or «I cannot»? Because God is all that we need. He is the fullness of all that we desire. And if He is «I AM,» then we can trust Him. He had demonstrated to Moses that He can turn a plain wood into a serpent and turn it back to wood. He can turn a hand that is well into a leprous hand and turn it back.
Can the one who is able to work such transformational miracles not be able to transform Moses no matter what he thinks his deficiencies are? God can transform us. No matter what we think our weaknesses are, no matter what you think you cannot do, He can transform you. He can take you; if you are wood, He will do something else with you. If your hand or any part of your body is in infirmity, He can still use it to work out His purposes.
Then God says two things to Moses. First, He says, «I will be with your mouth. The mouth that you say is slow and has an impediment, I will be with it.» Now, interestingly, God did not say, «I will heal your mouth,» but He says, «I will be with it. " Because sometimes God doesn’t have to correct a problem in order for Him to use it. God can use us as we are. Even with infirmities, with impediments, and with limitations, God can still use us. Sometimes He changes a situation or something to use it, but other times He uses it just as it is. Because remember, your weakness is not God’s weakness. Neither is your strength God’s strength. God depends on Himself and not on you. So if you think you don’t have enough, just trust Him. He says, «I will be with your mouth. " You think you don’t have it? I will be with you. You think you don’t have the ability? I’ll still be with you. And His presence with you is your sufficiency.
Then the second thing God says is, «I will teach you what to say.» This mouth that you say doesn’t have the power to say the right things — I’ll teach you what to say. Because the real fear of Moses is, «When I stand before these people, what am I going to say? What words am I going to use? " He’s afraid. He’s scared, the same way some of us get scared when we have to do a presentation and we’re wondering, «What am I going to say? What should I say?» You may be the most eloquent person, but normally when you have to do a presentation before a very distinguished audience, you lose confidence. And that’s what’s happening to Moses. And God says, «Don’t worry. I will give you the right words to say. "
And that should be our assurance, that when we need the words to speak, God will give them to us. When we need a step to be taken, God will take the step with us. We don’t figure out how everything is going to work out before we obey God. We obey Him one step at a time, and He leads us and guides us and teaches us how to get the results that we desire. The Lord is our teacher, and He will direct our paths. He will order our steps and bring us to the place appointed for us. Just trust Him. He is the great «I AM.»
Let us pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, you made every part of me. Teach me how to do the things you have called me to do in Jesus' name. Amen. And amen.»