“Moses said to the Lord, ‘Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.'” Exodus 4:10 NIV
The fourth excuse I want to look at is the excuse of ‘I’m not good with words’. I believe you can group ‘I have never spoken in front of people’ with this excuse as well. Both are part of an excuse that revolves around the fear of being the person that everyone is looking at as you stumble over words trying to communicate what you mean. This could be when you are talking to someone important and/or talking to a large group of people. Either way, this fear is real but it can be defeated with help from God.
As we look at the account of Moses and his conversation with God, we see him try and use this excuse. God had already told Moses what he was to say and He promised Moses that the elders would listen to him, but Moses was still scared and gave God another excuse. At this point it feels like God is getting frustrated with Moses and reminds Moses about Who gave Moses his mouth in the first place and then tells him to just go. God wasn’t giving Moses an ‘out’ any longer.
When I read verses 10-12, I picture a frustrated parent who wants their child to do something that they know they can do because the parent will be there with them making sure that they are successful. Of course, earthly parents want their children to do something less scary than talk to the Pharaoh of Egypt. God doesn’t always want us to go and do magnificent things, sometimes what He wants is small but may feel big to us.
I remember the first time I was asked to give a sermon at church, I was scared and tried to refuse to do it. The congregation wasn’t that large but it felt large when I would think about having to stand up there and speak. Also, I didn’t have a clue what words I was to be speaking, I had never written a sermon before. However, God had been working in me for a while because there was this part of me that wanted to talk to people about God but I didn’t know what words to say in those moments.
I muddled through that moment and all of the moments that followed when leaders asked me to speak in their absence and over time I stopped relying on myself to come up with the words and began relying on God to give me the words. Now when I write a sermon, this blog or when I was writing the book, my practice is to ask God to give me the words that He wants a person to see or that a person may need to hear. I have notes when I speak so that I don’t forget what I believe God wants me to say and if He places something in my mind while I am speaking I try my best to communicate that as well. Anything is possible if we let God help and guide us.
Heavenly Father, please be with each one of us and help us as we hide in fear from the things You have asked us to do. Whether they are small things or large things, please guidance us to listen to You and know that we don’t have to feel alone in any moment because You are always right there with us. In Jesus’s precious name. Amen