Here I am Lord, send him me.

Exodus chapters 1 -15, a full 5 days of my http://www.bibleinayear.org/ reading plan. :-) A quick caveat though: the site seems to have missed sending out some emails in the last few weeks, but the website hosts the (personalised) reading plan in HTML format, so with a bit of inconvenience, it is still very much possible to stay on track.

Wow, so much speaks to me, but the experience of Moses at the burning bush speaks to me the most.

Remember that Moses, in his younger days, was so eager to defend his people that he killed an Egyptian (Exodus 2:11-12). Yet, when God called him to be the leader to release his people from bondage, he had just about every excuse for God to send someone else:

1. First he said: ""Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?"" (Exodus 3:11). To which God said (and I paraphrase) "No worries, I will give you a sign." Only problem was that the sign is that Moses will lead all the Israelites to Mt Horeb (where the burning bush was) to worship God after he has led them out of Egypt! That's like me asking "Am I really qualified to teach at Sunday School?" and God answering "I will give you a sign: When you have taught Sunday School for a year, you will find that it is very rewarding." God has a sense of humour. :-)
2. Then Moses wanted to know who is sending him (in case the Israelites ask him). And God simply said "I am" (Exodus 3:14). There was no need to explain who He is, because God is the same God that Moses, the Israelites and their ancestors already knew. God is essentially saying "I am God, and that's good enough for you".
3. Then Moses asked "What if they don't listen to me?". And God gaves him the ability to perform signs and wonders - staff turning to snake, healing, and turning water to blood (Exodus 4:1-9). God equips us for the work He has set out for us, be it the ability to perform signs and wonders, or the ability to teach, for example.
4. Even with the ability to perform signs and wonders, Moses argued that he is not eloquent, to which God assured him that it will be Him that is doing the talking, not him.
5. Finally Moses came to the crux of what really mattered to him. He said "O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send." (Exodus 4:13). Essentially he is saying "Here I am Lord, but please send him (anyone else but me). This was the point at point God was angered, and He chose Aaron to be Moses' mouth piece (Exodus 4:14).

It strikes me that Moses' reaction is very much like our human nature (I confess that I do behave like that sometimes). When we want to do something in our agenda (in our way), we will run ahead and just do it (compare this to Moses killing the Egyptian because he saw the Israelites being oppressed and wanted to do something about it). But when God takes our ambition to the next level and wants us to adopt His agenda (like God asking Moses to lead His people our of Egypt), we suddenly lose the passion we once had, simply because God is not telling us to do thing our way, instead He wants us to do things His way. When we do things our way (again compare to Moses killing the Egyptian), we tend to think small, and are content with dubious small victories (that often times could even do more harm than good). But when God wants us to do things His way, He is giving us the priviledge to be his instrument to do something BIG (like Moses releasing ALL the Isralites from slavery).

Thus, my prayer today is that we will have the wisdom and discernment to consistently hear God in our daily lives, and when He calls us (and He will), we will say "Here I am Lord, send him me!".