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Thursday, June 8, 2017

Make It Real through Discussion

Moses did not immediately go to Pharaoh after his God-encounter at the burning bush.  He listened to God’s Word, yes.  But he didn’t like what he heard – especially the part God was calling Moses to do.  So, he talked it through with God in prayer.  The discussion didn’t go where Moses wanted it to go.  It ended with The LORD still sticking with the plan.  Moses needed to go to Pharaoh.

But Moses again pleaded, "Lord, please! Send anyone else." Then the LORD became angry with Moses. "All right," He said. "What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he speaks well. And look! He is on his way to meet you now. He will be delighted to see you. Talk to him, and put the words in his mouth. I will be with both of you as you speak, and I will instruct you both in what to do. Aaron will be your spokesman to the people. He will be your mouthpiece, and you will stand in the place of God for him, telling him what to say. And take your shepherd's staff with you, and use it to perform the miraculous signs I have shown you." (Exodus 4:13-17 NLT)

At this point, you may think that Moses would go do what The LORD had called him to do.  But, he did not.  Now, he began the next part of his faith-journey process: discussion.

So Moses went back home to Jethro, his father-in-law. "Please let me return to my relatives in Egypt," Moses said. "I don't even know if they are still alive." "Go in peace," Jethro replied. (Exodus 4:18 NLT)

Moses didn’t need to talk to his father-in-law about his God-encounter, but he did.  He even asked permission to leave.  With God commanding Moses’ next steps, this wasn’t really necessary either.  But Moses’ process took him through relationship after relationship, preparing him for the calling that The LORD had placed on his life.  Discussions build our faith so we will do what God calls us to do.

Before Moses left Midian, the LORD said to him, "Return to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you have died." So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and headed back to the land of Egypt. In his hand he carried the staff of God. (Exodus 4:19-20 NLT)

Moses would talk things through with his wife and children as well.  On the journey, his boys would need to be circumcised in obedience to The LORD.  Moses’ wife wasn’t too happy about the idea, but they obeyed God as a family anyway.  Discussions influence those around us to do what God calls them to do.

Now the LORD had said to Aaron, "Go out into the wilderness to meet Moses." So Aaron went and met Moses at the mountain of God, and he embraced him. Moses then told Aaron everything the LORD had commanded him to say. And he told him about the miraculous signs the LORD had commanded him to perform. (Exodus 4:27-28 NLT)

God told Moses that he could do this ministry with his brother, Aaron.  God then spoke with Aaron to let him know what was coming.  We don’t have any record of Aaron’s early stages of the process.  How did The LORD appear to Aaron?  We don’t know.  Did Aaron have a conversation with God in prayer like Moses did?  We don’t know.  We do know, however, that Aaron did what The LORD told him to do.  He went to meet Moses.  Then they were ready to take the next step together as a team.  Discussions build teams of people committed to God’s Will.

Then Moses and Aaron returned to Egypt and called all the elders of Israel together. Aaron told them everything the LORD had told Moses, and Moses performed the miraculous signs as they watched. (Ex 4:29-30 NLT)

Finally, Moses and Aaron had a discussion with the elders of Israel.  God did tell Moses to have this discussion as a part of Moses’ “making it real” prayer.  All of this, though, was a part of Moses’ process.  Moses clearly needed to talk things through with people so that he would do what God had called him to do.

How about you?  Do discussions with other people strengthen your faith in what God is calling you to do?  Do your discussions help others around you to do what God is calling them to do?  Do discussions in your life build teams committed to God’s Will?  Do you make your faith real through discussions?

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