How to Respond When God Says “Go”

It wasn’t until I was 12 that I realized the Prince of Egypt wasn’t just a Disney movie with an amazingly catchy soundtrack, but that it was actually a biblical story. And it wasn’t until I actually read the story in Exodus (and re-watched the movie on Netflix) that I realized how similar Moses and I are to one another.

Just as God asked Moses to deliver the Israelites out of Pharaoh’s grasp and into the promised land, God has asked me, and all of us as believers, to deliver people out of the devil’s reign of sin and into His promise of eternal life (Acts 13:47, Mark 16:15). And if I am being honest, I am similar to Moses in that I am usually scared out of my mind to do it.

“If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them? God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM’” Exodus 3:13-14.

Like Moses, I often ask God: how do I reply when people ask me about you? It’s hard to explain to someone why God would let bad things happen to good people, why many of the Christian values are so different than the world’s, or even that Jesus is the only way to get to heaven when a belief that everyone can be right is so popular in today’s society (John 14:6).

But God said to Moses, and He says to us, “I Am who I Am.” Not, I am who you think I should be. Not, I am who the person you’re talking to wants me to be. Not, I am whatever you think makes sense as long as you believe. “I Am who I Am.” I am loving, forgiving, creator, and I am jealous, just, and feared (James 4:5, Deut. 32:4, Acts 10:35).

I once heard an illustration that stuck with me. I was at a women’s conference and the man speaking told us about his wife. He said, “I’m going to go home and tell my wife, ‘Honey, you are so beautiful. I love your blue eyes and blonde hair. It makes me so happy that you have blessed me with our son and I am so thankful to be your husband.’” The speaker then asked us how many women in the room would like to hear something like that from their husbands. Needless to say, I don’t even have a husband but my hand shot straight up. He then proceeded to say, “Well my wife would hate it… because she has brown eyes, and brown hair, and we have a daughter.”

We can’t love God if we don’t even know who God is. We can’t pick and choose what qualities we like, and which we don’t (2 Samuel 22:31, Romans 11:33). We can’t decide we will believe some of God’s truths but that others don’t apply (2 Timothy 3:16). We can’t fully love, know, and have a relationship with someone we have created as a fantasy in our head. To love God, we must know the real God. And to help others love God, we must tell them about the real God.

But how do we tell them?

“But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and tongue.” Exodus 4:10.

I will readily admit that 97.3% of the time I am awkward, unprepared, and sweaty when I am trying to be obedient to God’s call of spreading His kingdom. And like Moses, I often times go to God with a self-centered attitude telling him all of the reasons I cannot do what He has asked. I believe the lie that my shortcomings define my ability to spread God’s word and I use the excuse that I am not good enough or that I don’t know what to say.

But when Moses retreats into his self-pity speech about his unfit skills, God doesn’t comfort him by telling Moses how great he is, but by telling him how great HE is.

Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? …I will be your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” Exodus 4:11-12.

Our self-absorbed hearts forget that not only does the Lord know about all of our flaws, but that He uses them to be a tool in proclaiming His glory. Paul tells us, “So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Instead of using our weaknesses as an excuse not to tell others about God, we should be embracing them as offerings to see God’s power work in us, and in the people we evangelize to.

The call is simple. The Lord says to Moses, “Now therefore go…” Exodus 4:12.

God specifically chose Moses, and he specifically chooses us each individually (Ephesians 2:10). Just think, if Moses hadn’t obeyed God’s call he wouldn’t have tangibly seen God in a burning bush, felt God’s provision and safety during the plagues, watched the Lord crush his enemies in the Red Sea, or felt God’s amazing power as He worked through him to lead a whole group of people out of slavery and into freedom. All of these things happened simply because Moses listened when God said go. What are we missing out on when we don’t answer His call to go?