Today's Scripture Reading (January 21, 2025): Numbers 11
A couple of decades ago, I remember watching a video about a man who went from door to door with the message of Jesus Christ but received no response from those to whom he spoke. The film then told the story of this man fasting for thirty days but still not receiving a positive response from the people around him. I watched as this saint poured out his heart to God, asking for a new place to work, and received the response, "No, I placed you here. Don't ask for a new place?" Maybe the video impacted me because I understand the angst, as well as the response of God.
I love Moses's response here because it reminds me, at least partially, of what my response is supposed to be. In the middle of the whining and complaining, Moses falls before God and says, "Okay, kill me. God, you have given me a job I can't fulfill, and death seems to be the only way out of this." My interpretation of Moses's response is that, for Moses, dying was apparently an option he was willing to consider. But quitting, returning to Midian and the old life that he had enjoyed for forty years before God and that burning bush wasn't an option.
I also remember a board meeting I chaired a few decades ago. The meeting had been a bit of a difficult ending to our year, but I had a great group of dedicated leaders who attended the meeting. At this meeting, it had become apparent that we were ending the year with a bit of a financial crunch. Our income had plateaued, but expenses were continuing to rise.
We had a problem, and we were agonizing over the solutions. One board member had jokingly said, "Let's just all quit." One man, our missions president, quietly looked around the table after the response and said, "I can't; God has called me and told me that this is where I am supposed to be." That was the response I needed to hear at that meeting because I felt the same way. However, I also recognized it as a Moses response. More than that, I know that the response came from a stressful life change situation when it would have been easy to say to God, "I need to step back and take care of my life. Let me get back to you later, and we'll talk about what you want me to do." Instead, the response was, "God has placed me here, and there is nowhere else I can go."
I believe that each of us is called to do something for which we are gifted to build up the body of believers. We need to get back to where you can say that God has called me to be in this place and do precisely what I am doing.
Do you know why you're here on this earth? Do you understand what God is calling you to do? Are you willing to stand up and say to God and those around you that I am here and there is no place else where God wants me to be?
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Numbers 12
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