Godleadsme

Why are we so afraid to obey God when it requires decisive action? We are afraid to obey God when required to make decisions because we are afraid of getting it wrong, i.e. not hearing God correctly and messing up, incurring wrath from multiple human sources, c) fear of rejection....loss of positive social interaction, d) fear of scorn and humiliation.... and of course fear of lacking the "right qualifications" to make the best decisions. How are we to deal with fear when we feel it? We are to trust God, pray, stand on His Word, step out, face the fear/decision, do our best, hopefully overcome the fear! What is the relationship of fear to courage? I think they are flip sides of the same coin in that the presence of one eclipses the other so that ithe opposite is extinguished. [in the season] Trusting in God and God's capacities extinguishes the fear of our own inadequacies. If we focus on our inadequacies we block out confidence and trust in God, thereby diminishing the courage of the Lion of Judah that resides within us. Fear is so painful that is is a true signal to us that we have to find courage or it will kill us, one way or another. Fear then serves the same function to our soul that pain serves to our body. It says, "something is seriously wrong......see the Great Physician, seek healing and live......i.e. choose life NOT death". As a bonafide child of God, on a life and death mission of mercy for the King of Kings, our inheritance is HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE in the midst of this chaos but we must choose it and sustain it through proper spiritual nurture instead of remaining trapped in terror. Then we can lead others out of bondage and fulfill our destiny. Why is courage required in leaders and disciples? Leaders have to make unpopular decisions sometimes. It takes courage to be o.k. with the general reaction of key stakeholders at such a time. Everyone who serves God will provoke the powers and principalities of darkness to react aggressively in order to shut them down. It takes serious courage to face the tide of evil that is a predictable backlash when standing for God and kingdom values. Few have this kind of courage when consistently under fire.

God is angry with Moses because he is knowingly or not, running away from the call to "save much people". Even after seeing the miracle of the burning bush, the staff turned-to-snake-to-staff, and the healthy hand-to-leprous hand and back again, Moses was still so engrossed in his perceived inadequacies that he failed to see that he was qualified in and by God! He feared rejection and condemnation so much that he couldn't shake it off and "suck it up" in light of the bigger picture and all that was at stake. His fear of people eclipsed his reverance for God too, so much so that he was paralyzed at the thought of participating on this scale. His request for the Lord to send someone else was not pleasing to God. I think this is less about disobedience and more about fear of human consequences if God's plan was followed. Again, Moses could have had no mental frame of reference for what God was going to do. I have been in this place of intense fear of man and fear of public scorn and humiliation related to my calling. I was tested for several years in an arena I did not want to be in. I think God was patient with my fears even though He had to drag me kicking and screaming into this forum. If God was angered over my reluctance to follow Him into this dark place, He did not reveal it to me. I did obey but was terrified every step of the way. God then redirected me to an alternate form of ministry that targetted the same outcomes as the first. Thankfully for me this context has been far easier for my personality to thrive in.........not easy........easier! Moses stopped arguing with God and made arrangements to return to Egypt.....with his wife, child, a donkey and the confidence that God was leading him. This step of faith caused God's anger to be appeased and the miracles began!

A2. I would argue that Moses' fearful response to the call to bring the Hebrews out from Egyptian oppression and the hand of Pharoah, indicates all three issues operating in his life. I think that the many years spent reflecting on his biological circumstances, his upbringing in Pharoah's courts, his guilt over murdering the Egyptian, his reputation in both cultures, his isolation from everything and everyone that was part of his youth, his rejection from both Hebrew and Egyptian culture, his assimilation into Midianite culture and his subsequent sense of "not belonging" all contribute to his very low sense of self-worth and valid fear that he would face tremendous opposition from both sides. His faith is likely lacking because of a) limited exposure to Hebrew theology, this kind of miracle was unprecedented in world history and Moses had no frame of reference through which to interpret God's commands, God's will or likely outcomes c) Moses likely had no idea the degree to which God had always been with him, protecting him and preparing him "for such a time as this". Pertaining to humility, Moses appears unafraid to disagree with God's preferred course of action through him so I am not certain how humble he is at this point in his life. Perhaps he is just more afraid of facing his people and Pharoah and of failing than he is asking God to send someone else. I don't think he is arrogant or prideful but I believe most of his humility was attained during the decades leading the Hebrew people out of Egypt and through the wilderness.