Exodus 4:16

“Aaron will be your spokesman to the people. He will be your mouthpiece, and you will stand in the place of God for him, telling him what to say.”

Moses felt sure that his speech difficulties disqualified him from serving God. How could someone who was tongue-tied possibly lead the people of Israel and negotiate with Pharaoh? The answer was simple. His brother Aaron could fulfil that part of the role, and Moses could be the person who kept close to God and listened to his voice. In an ideal world, Moses would have been a perfect communicator and would have been able to do to the job himself, but in the real world he needed help.

We don’t live in an ideal world! This means that we need to be continually light on our feet and ready to adapt to new circumstances. The pandemic forced us to change and adapt in all sorts of different ways. In our churches, we had to look at everything we do with new eyes. Meeting together online had all sorts of downsides, but it had many blessings too. It was wonderful to meet so easily with people from all over the world and to be able to offer online services to many people who weren’t used to attending church.

God’s plans were not defeated by Moses’ speech difficulties and when he looks at us and our limited abilities, he won’t be held back by our inadequacies either. The image of the body of Christ makes it clear that no one has all the gifts. You and I have some gifts but without our brothers and sisters we will never be able to do God’s work. Throughout Moses’ crucial ministry he needed to rely on many other people. He needed to be humble enough to welcome the wisdom, support and voices of others – as do we.

Question

In what way have other people’s gifts been a blessing to you?

Prayer

Lord God, thank you for the wonderful gifts that you have given to the people in my life. Help me to value them and encourage them. Amen

Released on 25 Sep 2024