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Q4. Why are we so afraid to obey God when he puts on our heart to do something decisive? How are we to deal with fear when we feel it? What is the relationship of fear to courage? Why is courage required in leaders and disciples? I think we are afraid to obey God when he puts things on our heart is because of fear. Fear or rejection. Fear of the unknown. Fear of whether God will show up. And I was once told that when you know your purpose, then it puts things into perspective. A lot of people don't know their calling so decisions like these make it hard to be obedient to what God has asked us to do. A lot of times the way I deal with fear is by mostly giving up or tackling it. But I definitely engage in the former more so than the latter. But also when I am not in union with God, things fall a part even worse. But when I am in union with God I find myself living in more courage than fear. The relationship of fear to courage is that it takes courage to overcome fear. But when we become courageous, the fear is obsolete. Courage is required in leaders and disciples because its vital to the will of God. We need to be strong and courageous because no great person because great by being weak and fearful. We need to persevere through trials and fight the good fight.

Q3. (Exodus 4:13-14a) Why is God angry with Moses? What is Moses’ basic sin? Unbelief, fear, or disobedience? Do you think the Lord has ever been angry with you? How did Moses appease God’s anger? God is angry with Moses because God called Moses out of Midian to free his people from Pharaoh. When God calls us to do something, we must do it and because of Moses' fear of his insecurities, he probably felt that he wasn't the right person to do this especially since he is 80 years old at this time and probably felt he didn't have influence over anyone. I think out of all those three, you can say that fear plays the biggest influence out of the other two. If you are fearful, you basically don't believe in what God says he can do and at the same time are being disobedient to what God has called you to do. I know in my life, God has been angry at me as well because of my stubborness but I know he is still patient. And he will always get me to my destination even if it takes a while. Moses appeases God's anger by finally doing what he has been told to do but only after he found help from Aaron. Even though God was angry at Moses, he was still patient and sent him Aaron to help ease some of his fears. I know it's always nice to have a sidekick because for me, if I have one friend to do something with then it kind of lifts some of the burden off of me and we can feed off of each other.

Q2. (Exodus 3:10-12) Does Moses' response to God's call reflect a low self image, true humility, or lack of faith? How does God reassure him? How does God reassure us when we are called to impossible situations? In this first instance when Moses speaks with God, I think Moses displays genuine humility about what God is asking of himself. By this time, Moses was 80 years old and spent his latter 40 years in Midian which was probably humbling from his first 40 years of his life. He went from living in the palace or a part of Pharaoh's family to being a shepherd. He probably thinks he is not worthy or capable of doing such a thing but of course, God knows the reservations we have in our heart and he assures Moses that He will be with him. He tells him that the sign that this will be fulfilled would be the Israelites worshiping God on the mountain of Horeb which is away from Egypt. God constantly has to reassure me that He is always with me. The story of Joshua always comes to mind when God constantly has to tell him to be strong and courageous. A lot of times, the outcomes we think will happen never happen but we are constantly being bombarded with the tricks of the enemy so that we do not fulfill what God has in store for us. God does not give us a spirit of fear but instead a spirit of love. It's his words he brings to mind or memories of past experiences he uses to help us be fearless for Him.

Q1. (Exodus 2:11-15a) What do we learn about Moses' motivations, character, and leadership ability from the incident of him killing the cruel Egyptian taskmaster? What positive things do you see in his character? What negative things do you discern? The killing of the Egyptian taskmaster by Moses shows his lack of self control. Yes, he had good intentions about standing up for his fellow Hebrew but he didn't act wisely when trying to fix the problem. Instead, he "solved" the manner in an extreme way which ultimately led to fear and running off to Midian. One could also assume that because of his social status of growing up in Pharaoh's household, that there was a longing to belong with his own kind. The text says "he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor." Maybe he wanted to fit in and thought that by killing the Egyptian he was in fact trying to gain favor from his fellow Hebrew. But of course, this had backfired on him. As far as his leadership ability, he didn't have influence just yet which is why the Hebrew put him to shame when he called him out about his murder. Also, not taking responsibility for his actions shows how God had to do much work in him before he could lead a nation to freedom. He himself had to be free of his old ways before he could free others. The positive I do see in him is with his heart. He had compassion on his fellow Hebrew but made a bad judgment call. You can also see a desire to fight in him. Yes he killed someone, but he used that desire to fight in the wrong way but you can also use it in a good way and it doesn't always have to be in a physical way. The negative I see is his lack of integrity, responsibility, and how he let fear get the best of him. But we know that God has a way of pruning us to be more like him which is probably why he stayed in Midian for 40 years.